Dragon and Hunter
by Immortal Drake
Summary: Spyro and Cynder have defeated Malefor, now they have the chance to be normal dragons. What happens when their actions have attracted the attention of a clan of Yautja with ties to the war, and meet a new dragon who is a hybrid of both species? Contains SpyroXCynder, and OCXOC. Rated M for Predator-style violence.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone, this is Immortal Drake, and this is my first crossover, and as you can guess I am a fan of both Aliens/Predator and Spyro the Dragon. There are few crossovers of these two, one in particular is Red Voltage by .Chaos97, it is a really good story and I recommend reading it. Without further ado, the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spyro, if I did there would be more games, nor Predator, also would be more movies if I did. I only own OCs and story concepts.**

**Plus, read, review, and baseless flames will be instantly deleted.**

Dragon and Hunter

By: Immortal Drake

The Yautja Elder stood in his chambers, waiting for the young Hunter to enter. He was onboard his clan's mother ship, their home across the galaxy. His clan was rather unique, they had found a world engulfed in war, a species being pushed towards extinction, they called themselves dragons, and one of their number had been inducted into their clan after he had shown much honor in defeating one of their Hunters. The dragon was named Skyclaw, and he had become close with one of the females of the clan, one of the Elder's daughters, and he had been pleased to find her reciprocate those feelings. It was through the Yautja's technology that the two had had a son, named Zar'thekoth, and he was a hybrid of Yautja and Dragon DNA. The youngling had passed his Blooding at a young age, very young in terms of the Yautja, which was remarkable, and brought him to the attention of the Elder.

His father had told him that he was bigger than most dragons his age, and much more muscular, with strength that was nearly on par with full-grown Yautja Elites. He had often sensed immense pride in Skyclaw's voice whenever he spoke of his son, and the Elder couldn't blame him, he was very proud of his own sons and daughters. Zar'thekoth had been initially shunned by the other young Hunters, but in sparring sessions he had a ferocity that had earned him the nickname of _Kujhade_, Destroyer. The other young Hunters quickly came to respect him for this, and he had come on many hunts for his short life. There was a rather troubling report from a scout, the world that was home of Skyclaw had been nearly torn apart, but repaired itself, Skyclaw had been seriously shocked when he heard this, referring to an old legend from his home world.

The young hybrid entered the chambers of the Elder, the doors hissing open and shut as he entered. He was wearing the armor of the Clan's Hunters, modified to fit him, with the metal plates on his chest, the shins of his rear legs, gauntlets on his forelegs, and his mask was clipped to one of the bandoliers which crisscrossed his chest. His tail and paws were left exposed by the armor. He looked a lot like his father, his scales a deep blue tinged with the cream of the Yautja; a streak of the color adorned the top of his muzzle, his forehead was slightly ridged like his mother's, the clan's symbol adorning it as it did his mask. His horns were smooth, ivory in color with spiraling lines adorning them as they curved slightly upward and outward. A mess of the distinctive Yautja braids also sprouted from his head just behind his horns, draping down to frame his head like a mane. The claws on his feet were black, and slightly flatter than a dragon's, but more bladelike than a Yautja's as they clicked on the floor. Similar structures to the mandibles of the Yautja adorned the sides of his mouth, more like tusks, the webbing between the two ivory teeth stretched whenever he opened his mouth to roar. His tail was tipped with a blade that had an artificial blood groove carved into it, something Zar had requested himself.

The Elder also knew he was fluent in the Yautja language and his father's native tongue as well, due to Skyclaw's teachings no doubt. The two gazes met, the Elder's amber and Zar's own deep gold, the pupils wreathed in silver. The dragon bowed his head, eyes closed, and the Elder spoke to him in Yautja, "Young Hunter, I have called you here for something important," the dragon raised his head and looked the Elder in the eye.

"What is it that you request of me, Honored One," Zar said, his tone formal and respectful. The Elder was pleased at the respect at the formality, but he did not stand on it much in private meetings like this.

"I have a mission for you, you are to go to your father's home world," the Elder stated, the youngling cocked his head to the side, confusion written across his face, the Elder couldn't help but smile, Zar had been born on the ship, only ever hearing about his father's world through stories. "Our scouts have reported disturbing activity from the planet, as your father probably told you," and comprehension came to the youngling's eyes as he nodded.

"Yes, the cataclysmic disaster and its sudden reversal," he replied.

"I want you to go there, and find out the cause of this event, maybe prove your father's theory right," the Elder instructed, there were no questions from the Hunter, the Elder guessed he would ask his father what that meant before he left, so he gestured that Zar'thekoth had permission to leave, and the Hunter pivoted and padded out of the room.

Zar'thekoth padded down the corridors of the clan's ship, wondering what the Elder had said to him. He was going to his father's home world, something he had only heard about, but never seen. His father had said it was a world wracked by war, many innocent lives had been lost to the carnage, and how his father had met with the clan during that war. He had heard about the evil dark dragon, Cynder, and how she had ruthlessly commanded armies of apes against her own species. This fact had always raised his hackles, the Yautja's laws forbade killing another Yautja, it was the most dishonorable thing to do. He had also heard stories of the true commander of the apes, Gaul, and his own cruelty, but it was not as bad to him as Cynder's betrayal. His father had always told him hopeful stories, of a legendary dragon, a purple dragon, that appeared once every ten generations to leave his mark on an era. This concept was confusing, simply being purple granted a single dragon the ability to change the fate of a world so dramatically, and was scheduled to appear the same generation as Cynder did.

He came upon his family's chambers, which was more of a converted cargo hold, his father sitting in the common chamber meditating. He opened his eyes as his son entered, and looked at him with a smile, "Greetings Zar, how did your meeting with the Elder go," his father asked him. He was always slightly bothered when anyone called him Zar, and not his full name, but it was tolerable when it was his father.

"The Elder had a task for me," Zar replied, and his father looked at him with an unspoken question, "I am to go to your home world, and investigate the disturbance there," his father nodded in understanding. "I would also like to ask, the Elder mentioned you had a theory about why this happened Father," Zar asked, his father smiling, his son always so formal.

"My theory is that the legendary purple dragon is the reason my world survived its cataclysm," Skyclaw explained and Zar nodded, the reason being clear. He walked to his personal quarters, and retrieved his weapons, a combi-stick spear, a dagger for taking trophies, and a pair of discs. He had more of an ability to stand on his back legs than any dragon, and had trained long and hard to wield the weapons of his clan. He padded back out of his chamber, his weapons clipped to his bandoliers, his spear collapsed on his back, between his wings. He didn't need a plasma caster; he had inherited his father's fire breath, which he used to great effect. He said farewell to his mother and father, and left for the docking bay.

Zar walked to the hangar bay, heading for his personal ship, its controls modified to be dragon friendly, sometimes he regretted he was not gifted with more articulate thumbs like his mother. He quickly reached his ship, shaped similar to an arrow with twin prongs jutting from the sides; he greeted his fellow Hunters that he met in the docking bay. The ramp to his ship opened and he walked across it to the insides of the vessel, closing the ramp as he did so. He engaged the ship's power and looked over the diagnostics, all systems flashed green. He disengaged the docking systems, slowly guided his ship out of the bay, and out into the blackness of space. He entered the coordinates of the planet, and the ship's FTL drive activated, shooting him and his ship into the unknown.

Spyro flew over the forest, enjoying the beauty of the sunlight. He and Cynder, the black dragoness he loved, had saved their world from the Dark Master, Malefor, and returned to Warfang victorious. It had been a couple weeks since they had returned, and there had been celebrations in their name, and repairs to the city to make. The hole in the wall made by the Golem summoned by Malefor had been repaired quickly with the help of the moles; those little guys sure knew their way around construction. Construction crews were also sent to the Temple, now that the repairs to Warfang were progressing so quickly. He and Cynder did their part to help out, but Spyro also tried to avoid Ember, the pink dragoness that had been infatuated with him ever since they met. Ember was a really sweet girl, but she came on too strong, and never seemed to get a hint that Spyro wasn't in to her. He dreaded the moment when he would have to tell Ember about how he loved Cynder, so he had decided to prolong it by avoiding her, Cynder had told him it was cowardly to do it, even Sparx had agreed to that, much to the latter's surprise. He realized he was descending in his distraction, flapping his wings and regaining the altitude he had. He heard a faint voice calling out to him, and he turned to see a small golden light bobbing towards him, which resolved itself into Sparx, his dragonfly foster-brother.

Spyro stopped and hovered as he waited for the dragonfly to catch up, "Spyro…Spyro, the Guardians want to see you and the female of fright in the Temple as soon as possible," Sparx called out, insulting Cynder even though she wasn't there. He nodded to the dragonfly and the two quickly flew towards the Temple.

Spyro and Sparx flew towards the Temple, the home of the Guardians and himself and Cynder before the fight with Malefor. When Malefor had been resurrected he had lifted the Temple from its foundations and levitated it over a volcano, the restoration of the world returning it to its proper place. The repair of the damages from the war seemed to be going well, many of the cracks and holes had been filled in. He walked through the halls until he came to a circular chamber, pillars around the edges, and three large adult dragons sitting at the end. They were the Guardians; Terrador, a large green dragon and Guardian of Earth, Cyril, a scholarly ice blue dragon and Guardian of Ice, and Volteer, an excitable yellow dragon and Guardian of Electricity. He nodded to them and noticed Cynder had beaten him there, she smiled and waved to him as he came and sat down next to her.

"Spyro, Cynder, I see you have been enjoying yourselves and this time of peace," Terrador rumbled in his deep voice, the two young dragons smiled at each other and then turned to the adults.

"Yeah, it's been great," Spyro said, Cynder nodding in agreement, it was great to not have to worry about grublins trying to kill him and Cynder. But there was a grim look on the faces of the Guardians, and Spyro felt his smile fading.

"There has been a report from Hunter of a mysterious disturbance in the sky late last night, and a disturbing report from Chief Prowlus about an entire camp of grublins being wiped out to the last," Cyril informed them.

"Yes, very gruesome, decapitations, disembowelments, and most of all are signs of it being done alone," Volteer said quickly before Cyril shushed him, the two sending glares at each other. Cynder looked a little sickened at the description of the attack, and Spyro put his wing around her to comfort her.

But something sounded off, "That attack was done alone," he asked.

Terrador nodded, "Yes Spyro, Prowlus' scouts reported that there was a single set of tracks in the camp that didn't match with any grublins, and they looked like dragon tracks," Spyro's jaw dropped, a single dragon had wiped out an entire encampment of grublins. The only dragons that could effectively take on a camp of grublins would be himself and Cynder, or the Guardians, but never alone. "Prowlus' report also said that it was very close to the site of the disturbance Hunter reported, and we want you two to investigate," Terrador said to them.

"Are you sure you can't send someone else," Cynder said to the Guardians, Spyro knew that she didn't mean any disrespect, but he spoke up, "We'll go," and Terrador nodded in thanks, "Thank you, young dragons, be careful out there." The two young dragons nodded to the Guardians and padded out of the chamber.

Cynder looked at Spyro as the two flew towards the site of the attack on the grublin camp, "Why do you think they want us to go, I think we've done enough already with helping out with the repairs," she said to him, he sighed.

"Cynder, they wouldn't have sent us if they thought someone else could handle it, you know that." "I'm just worried, we don't have our full powers, what if we needed the fury attack," she retorted, she had a point, they hadn't had their powers after their battle with Malefor, which were returning slowly, but they still didn't have their most powerful attack, the fury attack. The sheer ferocity of the attack as described by Volteer and Terrador hadn't helped, Spyro's stomach still twisted whenever he thought about it, what would be so ferocious to wipe out an entire grublin encampment to the last, and in such a gruesome fashion. There was a clearing of trees some distance away, no doubt the grublin camp and Spyro motioned to Cynder to descend.

The two young dragons came to a smooth landing in the outskirts of the camp, just outside the clearing of the trees. The camp was roughly circular, with the fortifications ringing a collection of tents. At least, that would be the case, some of the fortifications had been smashed, and bodies of some regular grublins, even an Ogre were laid out around the side the dragons walked towards. Spyro's eyes were quickly scanning back and forth, noticing scorch marks that coincided with fire breath along the fortifications and on the bodies. He took a closer look at the Ogre, and noticed its head was missing; he quickly blocked Cynder's view of the body with his wing, and shook his head at her when she looked crossly at him. She let the matter drop as they passed the fortifications that still stood, the sight before them could only be described as a massacre.

Tents were smashed and burnt, grublin bodies of many varieties were strewn about, some missing heads or lying in piles of their entrails, Spyro fought not to gag as he saw Cynder doing the same. They came to the center of the camp, and saw a grublin bigger than the rest, the leader, and they gaped. There was a large stone standing in the center of the camp, but it was not the rock that amazed them, the large grublin was tied upside-down to the rock with what looked like rope, but had been flayed of what skin it had. It was an amazing feat of strength on the part of who had done this, but also of their cruelty. Cynder tapped his shoulder with her wingtip, "Spyro, don't you feel like we're being watched," he looked around, and saw the bodies, but then something nagged at the back of his mind, Cynder was right, there seemed like there was someone else there. "What are you two doing here?" said a voice behind them, it was deep and had a metallic sound to it, and the two dragons turned quickly, but saw nothing.

**A/N: Whoa, things getting creepy, and gory galore. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed it, and also think about checking out Red Voltage, it's a good story in my opinion.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello again readers, to the first Chapter of Dragon and Hunter. I wanted to get this out on the First, but time and inspiration conspired against me.**

**Those of you who read this when it was just the Prologue might be wondering why I made the changes to Zar's appearance, this was because I thought the mandibles not enough, and I had the idea of making the dreadlocks like a mane, which I thought would be cool. The changes to the preceding Author's Note was also because I thought my attempted shout-out to another story I liked was poorly worded, so I changed it.**

**Disclaimer: See Prologue.**

Spyro squinted as he looked, at best he could make out what looked like a distortion in the air, but it seemed to waver as he tried to make it out. "I said, what are you two doing here?" came the voice again, and then the disturbance seemed to shimmer, resolving itself into what looked like a dragon. He was covered in strange armor, the under layer tan with a pattern similar to a net, and there was a metal mask on his face engraved with a strange symbol on the forehead, gauntlets were on his forearms, the left one slightly bigger than the right, a metal breastplate on his chest crisscrossed with bandoliers, and metal plates covered the shins of his rear legs. Spyro noticed his paws and tail were exposed, and the scales that covered them were a deep blue, tinged with the color of cream. His tail was tipped with a blade, like Cynder, and he saw a groove running along it that didn't look natural. Strangest of all, he seemed to have a mane of what looked like hair braided into what Hunter described to him as 'dreadlocks,' behind his horns, a few of which were decorated with single aquamarine colored rings.

What Spyro could tell was the other young dragon had a rather muscular build, easily twice his size and standing half a head taller than him, which bothered him more than Cynder being a couple inches taller than him. "Who are you?" Cynder asked the stranger, who turned his masked face to her.

"My name is Zar'thekoth, Zar for short." Cynder looked at Spyro confusedly, that was definitely the strangest name for a dragon Spyro had ever heard, but the stranger turned his attention to Spyro, "You are the legendary purple dragon I take it?" Spyro nodded his head, "And you are responsible for the continued well-being of this world?" Spyro nodded again in answer, dumbfounded, the stranger knew quite a lot. The stranger then pivoted and walked away, curtly saying, "Good, my mission is complete, good day."

"Hey, wait up," Spyro heard Cynder say, he didn't know why she wanted to follow the stranger, Spyro didn't like him, but he quickly followed.

"Cynder, wait," he said.

* * *

Zar'thekoth was annoyed, the other dragon wanted to follow him, his mission was completed, and he was leaving. He had destroyed the camp of those imbecilic creatures in order to attract attention, and it had succeeded more than he thought it would. He had not only attracted any dragon, but the purple dragon, and he had confirmed that it was indeed him who had reversed the cataclysm. The black dragoness with the magenta underbelly, and green piercing eyes, was a mystery, but finding out about the females of his father's species was not in his mission. The purple dragon had been impressive, his scales amethyst, and his horns and underbelly gold, with a gold leaf-shaped spade on his tail. The black one had blades on her wing thumbs and a tail blade like he did, but aside from that she was rather beautiful. The two also seemed to be around his age, even though he stood taller than the two of them and was bulkier. He was only tolerating these other dragons because he was sure he could lose them, and then he heard the purple dragon speak, "Cynder wait," and he stopped.

A look of shock etched itself upon his face under his mask, was it really, no it couldn't, Cynder was supposed to be a full grown dragoness. He whirled on the two young dragons; they looked at him in surprise, and looked the purple dragon in the eye, "Did you say 'Cynder'?" The purple dragon nodded at him, confusion evident, "As in the one who betrayed her own species and lead armies with intent on their extinction," the black dragoness looked hurt, so that was true, how she came to be around his age was irrelevant.

"Hey, you leave Cynder alone, it wasn't her fault, she was corrupted by the Dark Master," the purple dragon said to him, anger evident in his voice.

"Yes it is, for not having the strength of mind to resist temptation, she is nothing more than an _Ic'jit_, a Bad Blood, and not worthy of being called a dragon," Zar would have admitted that statement was probably taking it too far, but it was how he felt, and it only angered him more that the purple dragon was defending her. The black dragoness looked like she was even more upset, and there were tears in the corners of her eyes, even though she tried to hide them when she caught him looking. The purple dragon was baring his teeth and growling at Zar, glaring and spreading his wings slightly, ready to pounce. The impetuous dragon obviously had no idea what he would be getting into if he did try to fight Zar, so the hybrid didn't make any outward preparations, but did keep his eye on the other dragon.

* * *

Spyro was furious, the stranger had simply not talked to them and left with no explanation, and then when he had confirmed who Cynder was, he had launched into a tirade about her past. What was even worse was the fact that he didn't even seem to care about her not being in control of herself, and had called her unworthy of being a dragon. It was strange what he had also called her, a Bad Blood, whatever that meant, but Spyro was now intent on tearing the other dragon a new one. Spyro had seen the tears in Cynder's eyes, and that teared it, he bared his teeth and growled.

The stranger didn't seem to react, the mask not helping in gauging emotions, or anything else for that matter.

Cynder spoke up, "Spyro, don't, you're just giving him what he wants."

He looked at Cynder, confused, "Cynder, he deserves what he gets; powers or no powers I will make him apologize to you," he said heatedly, his gaze immediately returning to the stranger.

The stranger then whirled away again and marched off, leaving Spyro dumbfounded, "I'm done here, whatever you want to do with the traitor is not my concern," the stranger said curtly, almost a monotone.

"Well I'm not, you apologize to Cynder," Spyro said, running in front of the stranger and cutting him off. The stranger stopped and looked straight at him, the mask's blank gaze boring right into him. Spyro saw the stranger gather himself, and he leaped straight up into the branches of a nearby tree, not expecting such a reaction Spyro's jaw dropped and he saw Cynder's do the same and the two watched the strange dragon leap from branch to branch and tree to tree away from them. He and Cynder looked at each other, and then ran after the stranger.

* * *

Zar'thekoth was fuming as he leaped from branch to branch, the impudence of the purple dragon in threatening him. Granted he had taken things rather far with Cynder, his clan's culture respected females as the ones who raised the next generation of the clan. To disrespect one could cost the fool their head, and that was a fate he wanted to avoid. He heard the two dragons bumbling after him, he may not have much experience flying, but he knew his way around forested areas, and through branches. He had certainly impressed them with his ability to leap into the branches from the ground, and he leaped from tree to tree, heading back to his ship. He activated his cloak, hearing the two dragons following him cry out in surprise, a smirk on his face under his mask. He knew the landmarks on this path well, and would reach his ship soon, and could leave this unbearable planet. He quickly came upon the clearing, the sounds of the dragons crashing through the forest tickling the edge of his hearing. He leapt to the ground, and trotted to where his ship was supposed to be, and pressed a button on his gauntlet to deactivate his ship's cloak.

Nothing happened; he pressed the button again to make sure, the same result. He switched to the heat vision mode of his mask; it augmented the slight heat detection in his natural vision, and looked. Even if his ship was invisible, it should still be giving off a little heat, and have some kind of signature in his mask's readings. "Looking for something," he heard a voice say, he whirled, his tail lashing in his annoyance. A shadow moved, and revealed what looked like a feline walking upright, a red hooded cloak about its shoulders, a bow and arrow on its back. It was what his father had identified as a cheetah, its fur yellow and covered in spots, the cheetah stood taller than him, due to him standing upright. The voice and build left no doubt to the cheetah's masculinity, but he growled, "What have you done with my ship?"

"So one of the demons speaks our tongue," came another voice, and Zar turned his head, another of the cheetahs with orange fur, and stripes, more like a tiger, came out of the trees with half a dozen cheetahs behind him.

The two young dragons finally caught up, "Chief Prowlus, Hunter, what are you doing here," the purple one, Spyro, said. He had looked at the orange one first, and then the yellow, leading Zar to believe Prowlus was the orange one while the yellow one was Hunter.

"We are taking custody of this demon, so don't interfere," Prowlus said, Zar flared his wings and growled, his tail twitched.

"He's not a demon, he's a dragon, even though he's a jerk," this statement came from Cynder, and Zar was surprised she was sticking up for him.

"Of course he's a dragon, but he wears their armor, and pilots one of their ships, so we are taking him to face justice," Prowlus said while moving closer to Zar. The purple dragon gave an exasperated look to Prowlus; Zar sensed this was something Prowlus had done before.

"Who is this 'they'," Cynder said, and Prowlus gave them an angry look.

"They were demons who came from the stars during the war, hunting down any in their path without mercy, even my own son was not spared," Prowlus' shoulders slumped slightly when he finished his sentence, and the two dragons looked at Zar with a measure of distrust. He scoffed at this display, his clan was honorable, and they had visited the planet with intent to hunt the strongest, and must have succeeded. Still, it would not be unreasonable to think that there had been relatives of those hunted, he had thought so before, but that had been years ago.

"Return my ship to me, or I will make sure you see your son in the afterlife," he growled, the cheetahs looked shocked at the threat, the dragons as well, Hunter immediately drew his bow and arrow, "You aren't in a position to make threats."

Zar didn't respond, he looked between the cheetahs, Hunter, and the dragons, assessing the threats of each. He reared up, using his tail as a counterbalance, and stood upright, looks of shock etched on the faces of all present. He kept his wings flared slightly as well; balance was something he had to work on, and quickly drew his disc, the weapon sliding into its full shape and blades popping out, the laser sight on his mask shining into being and marking his target, the cheetah farthest to Prowlus' left. In a smooth practiced motion, he flung his weapon at his target, a rush of air following its wake, and it cut into the cheetah's chest as he fell back, dead before he hit the ground. He quickly moved the sight of his laser onto the chest of the cheetah on the opposite side of Prowlus' group, waiting for his disc to return.

Awareness was finally dawning on the cheetahs and dragons, Prowlus was starting to give orders to surround Zar and Hunter pulled back his bow, Cynder and Spyro charged. Then the disc had re-oriented itself, and rushed back to him, decapitating the other cheetah and returning to his outstretched paw in a matter of seconds. He then turned to the two dragons and brought his disc down, slamming it into the dirt mere inches away from Cynder's snout, causing her to yelp and jump back, Spyro's charge went uninterrupted.

Zar quickly let go of his disc and brought his paws up as he and Spyro clashed like two lions, both standing on their hind legs as they growled and pummeled each other. Zar's armor and mask made it difficult for Spyro to do much damage to Zar, but with the hybrid's strength, he sent a powerful blow to Spyro's temple, causing the purple dragon to disengage and stagger slightly. Cynder made another leap at Zar, completely airborne; Zar managed to bring his paws up and catch her, one paw on her chest, the other on her stomach, and reversed the momentum to slam her into the ground on her back. Spyro then leapt upon Zar, sending the two rolling. Once they came to a stop, Spyro held Zar pinned, "Surrender," Spyro said, baring his teeth. Zar didn't answer verbally, only growling, and kicked Spyro off of him, much to the purple dragon's surprise. When Zar had disengaged from the other dragons, he heard Prowlus give a command, "FIRE!"

Rolling away, Zar was able to evade being turned into a pin cushion. Getting back to his paws, Zar turned and leapt at one of the nearby cheetahs. The feline tried to bring his bow between himself and the dragon, but Zar batted it away as he pounced. Dragon and Cheetah collided, Zar's weight driving the feline to the ground. Zar's hind legs immediately went to work, digging in with claws that shredded the cheetah's armor. Before long Zar was raking his claws through his enemy's insides, the blood and gore staining the armor and the ground. Taking his opponent's head in his paws, Zar twisted it sharply with a hideous _crack_, and pulled the head free, blood dripping onto the grass.

With a growling battle cry, a cheetah rushed at Zar from behind. Zar's tail whipped into action, the blade sliced through the feline's lower leg, nearly cutting the shin in half. The cheetah fell to the ground clutching his leg and screaming as Zar rose to two legs again. Letting the head drop to the ground, Zar opened his maw and sent a fireball towards the other side of the circle, the flames engulfing one unlucky cheetah who started rolling on the ground trying to put out the flames, the two beside him knocked off their feet by the blast. Ignoring the fallen cheetahs, Zar turned to Hunter.

Hunter quickly shot an arrow towards the young hybrid, Zar moved aside of the projectile and leaped. Clenching his paw, Zar's wrist blades on his right gauntlet _hissed_ into place. Swinging, Zar aimed to decapitate Hunter in one blow. The cheetah flinched backwards and brought his bow between himself and Zar, the blades slicing through the wood like paper. Not taking a chance in close combat, Hunter leapt into the trees. Zar turned around, Prowlus hadn't moved from his place, arrow drawn and nocked, Cynder had gotten back to her feet, but seemed to still be trying to get her breath back. Spyro was standing slightly in front of Cynder, wings flared and teeth bared in a snarl. Deciding this would end with Prowlus and the other dragons, Zar took hold of his remaining weapons and laid them on the ground. Then his paws went to his mask.

He undid the seals as air rushed out from them with a hiss, and finally used both paws to take the mask from his face. The two dragons looked at him with shock and a little fear, standing stock still, "Wha-What are you," Cynder said in disbelief, but he didn't answer, his eyes riveted on Prowlus. Zar then inhaled deeply and roared, his tusk-like mandibles flaring an inch out from his face as he did so, his Yautja instincts on overdrive. Prowlus released his arrow, Zar leaped out of its path, using his tail to provide extra lift and his wings to add distance; he quickly closed the gap between him and his prey.

Zar lashed out with his right blades, Prowlus' bow suffering the same fate as Hunter's, splintering into two pieces connected by string. Prowlus drew a knife, attempting to slash at Zar. Zar in turn parried or dodged these attacks, each coming away with Prowlus' blade disintegrating more and more against Zar's own blades. Finally Prowlus slashed with all of his might, Zar brought up his left blades to block, and Prowlus' knife shattered, glittering pieces flying behind Zar while nearly cutting his face and wing. Zar took this opportunity and stabbed Prowlus in the side with his right wrist blades as the cheetah was carried too far by his own follow-through. Prowlus gasped, as did the dragons, blood welling up and staining the fabric Prowlus wore, it was not a serious wound and wouldn't kill. He let Prowlus fall, standing over him with his blades ready, his armor spattered with blood, his instincts telling him to end it all and make a trophy of the cheetah Chief. Then there was a strong impact to his head and he blacked out.

**A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger, wonder what happened. Hope everyone was in-character. See ya next time!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again readers, here is Chapter 2 of Dragon and Hunter. Last time someone took a cheap shot at Zar, I wonder who did that?**

**One of the things I've seen in some Spyro fics, is that Cynder seems to come off as rather emotionally fragile, not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just that I don't see her as being like that, is there a reason why?**

**Disclaimer: See Prologue**

Cynder watched Zar fall to the ground, a look of shock and fear still on her face. She had unconsciously huddled closer to Spyro when she had seen Zar's face, what had looked like tusks had moved, flaring an inch or so from his face when he had roared at Prowlus. His forehead had ridges on it too, scarred with a symbol almost exactly like the one on his mask. What was most disturbing to her were his eyes, they were like those of a dragon, but they held something different, a side to them that was much different from everything she knew, something alien. His roar held an alien element in it as well; it was deeper and more guttural than a normal dragon's roar. The way he had taken the mask off was slow and deliberate, almost like a ritual he did when facing a strong opponent. The weapons he had dropped were strange, another one of those discs but all folded up, a small cylinder with carvings on it, and what looked like an ornate dagger. She looked at Spyro, the two were huddled rather close to each other, but she didn't mind as she sent him an unspoken question. He shook his head in answer; the rock that had knocked Zar out hadn't come from Spyro's earth powers. She looked around, and saw Hunter standing nearby, another rock poised and ready to be let loose. She looked back at Zar, there was a bruise already forming on his visible scales and a small cut leaking blood, it was something negligible, but there was something strange about it, it was ruby colored like her own blood, but it seemed to have a natural glow to it, like there was an inner light shining out from it.

"You two take him to the Guardians, they have his ship, and he'll face better justice there I think," Hunter said to Cynder and Spyro, shaking the two dragons from their reverie. She stared at Hunter as he managed to roll Zar over ever so slightly as to extricate Prowlus from the tangle, and supported his Chief on his shoulder. Prowlus looked as if he might argue, but a groan escaped him and he kept silent, glaring death at Zar, and Cynder guessed Hunter was right. After Hunter and Prowlus left, Cynder and Spyro glanced questioningly between Zar and his weapons, one of his discs was unfolded and still embedded in the ground, and his other weapons had found themselves in a scattered formation on the ground, "See if you can move him, I'll gather his weapons," Cynder said to Spyro, who nodded at her and moved to the still unconscious Zar. It wasn't that she was lazy, but she didn't want to be near him right now, and she wanted to inspect Zar's weapons. She padded over to the collection, immediately identifying the folded disc, but she also saw what looked like an ornate dagger made out of something that wasn't metal. She picked it up, the hilt was the most normal part of it, but when she felt over the side, it didn't feel like metal, it felt more like the exoskeleton of a bug, and she put it down, whatever could be big enough to make a dagger out of was something she wouldn't like meeting. She then saw the small cylinder carved with strange symbols; they were runic in shape but still unfamiliar to her. Cynder picked it up, and she felt a small depression in the cylinder, she squeezed down, and yelped when the cylinder telescoped outward to reveal a long spear with two sharp ends, in her surprise she dropped it. Spyro immediately turned her direction, but she nodded at him that she was okay, and she turned back to examining the spear. It was definitely made of metal, but it wasn't any metal she had ever seen or heard of, its balance was unaffected by the drop, and it seemed designed to bat attackers away just as much as stabbing them. She squeezed the depression again, and the spear telescoped back to its former size, and it seemed sized to fit between dragon wings, Zar must have worn this on his back.

"Cyn, I think we'll need him to be awake to take him to the Guardians, I can't carry him by myself, and it will be too difficult to carry him together in the air," Spyro said, and she saw him trying to struggle with dragging Zar back to the grublin camp, Cynder didn't want to go back there, but it was better than here in the clearing where many of the cheetahs had died, and were going to be carried out of. She went over to Spyro and took hold of Zar and helped Spyro drag him to the camp.

* * *

Zar woke up with a groan and a pounding in his head, his vision slightly blurry. He remembered winning that bout with Prowlus, and was ready to make the cheetah into a trophy, but then there had been a dishonorable attack from behind to his head and he had passed out. He saw Spyro and Cynder sitting together a short distance from him, his head throbbed, and he growled, bringing him to the attention of the other two dragons.

"So, you're awake," said Spyro, clearly still mad at him, Zar noticed his weapons at their feet, his previously used disc folded back into its previous form. Zar got to his feet, Spyro tracking him with his eyes, Cynder doing the same. Zar looked at his weapons, they didn't seem to have been tampered with, and he moved to take them back. Spyro took a step towards him, "You aren't going anywhere or getting your weapons back until you answer our questions," he said, and Cynder nodded in agreement. Zar bared his teeth and growled, his mandibles flaring slightly in his anger, and he noticed Cynder's eyes flinch as they did so. Spyro didn't seem willing to let Zar simply collect his weapons, so he sighed and sat down on his rump.

"Fine, what is it you want?" he asked.

"Well, first of all, what are you," Cynder asked him, not moving from her sitting position.

"I'm a dragon, what else is there to know," Zar said in response, neither of the other two dragons looked convinced. He groaned again and felt the back of his head, there was a small bump there, and he felt wetness, and his paw came back slightly red. He looked at the blood, and then glared at the two young dragons, "I would have thought dragons were more honorable than this," he said as he shoved his blood tinged paw towards them.

Spyro and Cynder shared what looked like a guilty look, "Actually, Hunter hit you with a rock," Spyro said, and Cynder nodded, "We didn't have red crystals to heal you, but we didn't know if you wanted us to or not," she added.

Zar brushed it off, "I have medical supplies in my ship, nothing they won't take care of," and Spyro looked at him expectantly, probably still waiting for his explanation on what he was.

Zar sighed this time, these dragons were stubborn, "Fine, I am not entirely a dragon, those demons the cheetah spoke of, they are a species known as the Yautja," this brought looks of confusion to the faces of the other dragons. "They are reptiles like dragons, but are bipedal and have no wings, they also have mandibles on their faces like the ones I have," he explained further, "My father is a dragon named Skyclaw, and my mother is a Yautja named Mela'ra, the daughter of the clan's Elder," and Spyro and Cynder looked somewhat awed.

"How did your father do this, I thought they were merciless hunters," said Cynder.

"The Yautja are honorable, there is a Code of Honor that all members of our clan hold closer than our lives, and to break it is to forever be unworthy of being a Yautja," Zar answered with such sincerity that the other two dragons stood silent for a moment.

"That would explain why you didn't attack us when we were down," said Spyro, "And didn't finish off some of those other cheetahs," added Cynder, and Zar nodded. Zar had left out the part of killing oneself if they broke the Code, but he needed their trust if he was going to get his ship back.

"What is the reason you're here," Cynder asked him.

"I was sent here because a scout told the Elder and my father about the cataclysm of this world, the reason being that I was to determine why this planet's existence has continued, and my father had a theory about the legendary purple dragon saving this world, which was confirmed when I met you two," Zar explained.

"Well, we have all we need, I think the Guardians will want to ask you some more, so we need you to head back to the Temple with us," Spyro said, and Zar remembered something his father had told him.

"The Guardians, my father told me stories about them, and one of them is my uncle," Spyro and Cynder seemed impressed again, but the two prepared to fly by spreading their wings, and flew a few feet before noticing Zar remained grounded.

"What's wrong," Cynder asked.

"I'm collecting my weapons and mask," he answered her, and Cynder blushed in embarrassment that she and Spyro had forgotten about that. The two waited as Zar put his weapons back on his bandoliers, and then returned his mask to his face, becoming the faceless and emotionless stranger again.

"Alright, I'm ready," Zar said, his mask lending his voice a metallic tone, and Spyro and Cynder nodded to him as the Yautja-dragon gathered himself and leaped into the air, flying a little more slowly than they could because of his bulk.

When Zar saw the Temple, he was mildly impressed, even after Spyro and Cynder described that there were still some repairs that needed doing. The structure was dome-shaped, with some smaller structures nearby, and what looked like gardens on another side. The trio then landed near the doors leading inside, which opened for them. The halls were decorated with relics and being patched up by what Zar's father had told him were moles. The moles looked at Zar in his armor and mask, no doubt they had never seen someone like him before, then he heard what sounded like rapid footsteps behind them, his mask detecting something behind their group as well.

"SPYRO," Zar heard a loud female yell behind them, and reacting on instinct, he leapt in the air in the direction of the voice and tackled the stranger, pinning them under him in a few seconds. He looked at Spyro and Cynder, who looked shocked as their mouths were gaping, then he looked at who he had pinned under him, and was rather shocked as well. She was a pink dragoness with pale horns that were curved rather oddly, and her underbelly was pale as well, and there was a necklace around her neck made of gold with a heart-shaped ruby set into a pendant on the necklace. In addition, purple spines ran down her head and back; what was most unnerving was she was looking up at him with fearful blue eyes and flushed cheeks. Blushing himself Zar immediately got off of her, and backed away so she could pick herself up.

The pink dragoness looked at Zar fearfully again, but her face lit up when she looked at Spyro, "Spyro you're back, and what is she doing with you," the pink dragoness asked with a hint of heat in her voice, Zar could only guess that was directed at Cynder.

"Spyro, who is this," Cynder asked, Zar put two and two together and nearly chuckled.

"Cynder, this is Ember, Ember, this is Cynder," Spyro said to the two females. "And this is Zar, we're taking him to the Guardians," Spyro added, motioning with his head at Zar, Ember edging away from the stranger as he did so.

"Yeah, I think we've met," Zar couldn't help but add, and Cynder's eyes narrowed at him, then he heard other footsteps.

"Spyro, hey buddy, what's up, and who's the new guy with the mask," another voice said and Zar turned around. The voice belonged to a red dragon with yellow horns and underbelly, and a yellow tail spade. The red dragon was slightly taller than Spyro as well, about even in height with the pink dragoness Ember, but Cynder was slightly taller than them, so Zar theorized that the other two were about average height for a dragon their age, while he and Cynder were on the tall side, and Spyro was on the short side.

"This is Zar, he's the one who took out the grublin camp by himself," explained Spyro.

"Wow, so cool, does he talk, I'm Flame by the way," the red dragon introduced himself and asked a question at the same time.

Zar turned to face Flame, and decided to have a little fun with him, "Greetings Flame, it is nice to meet you," he said in Yautja, which came out as a series of growls and clicks, which were hard for him to manage as he couldn't click properly since his mandibles couldn't reach around his muzzle, clicking them against each other or his teeth.

He got his intended effect, all four dragons around him were looking at him with evident confusion, "Well, what did he say," Flame said to the other three, and they shrugged their shoulders.

Zar was nearly laughing at their inability to understand, barely holding it in, but Spyro cleared his throat, "Alright, if you two want to come with us, we need to get moving now," he said, and Ember and Flame fell in beside Spyro and Cynder, Zar would catch Ember sending dirty looks Cynder's way over a dozen times before they reached their destination.

They ended up at a set of round double doors that had some moss growing on them and around them, they seemed rather old, and Zar's mask found half a dozen weak points where even a weak fireball would blow away the entire door. These doors opened automatically as well, revealing a circular chamber that had pillars around them, and three adult dragons awaited them. One of them was green, and much bigger than the other two muscle wise, his horns and underbelly a faint tan color and a spiked mace adorned the end of his tail, Zar inwardly winced at the thought of being on the wrong end of it. There was a yellow dragon to the green one's right, and his horns were purple along with a pale underbelly and a tail spade of the same color as his horns. On the other side of the green adult, there was an ice blue dragon with horns of an ice-like color. Zar had heard about these dragons in his father's stories, the Guardians, Terrador Guardian of Earth, Cyril Guardian of Ice, Volteer Guardian of Electricity, but there was one missing, his uncle Ignitus, Guardian of Fire. He was glad his mask hid his emotions as he looked at them all, keeping silent unless they spoke first.

"So, you are the one we have heard about," Terrador rumbled to Zar, and he nodded in response, Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Ember had walked over to sit in front of the three adults facing Zar, only an observation on his part. "Can you speak young dragon," Terrador said to him in a patient tone, and Zar nodded again, but said nothing.

"Maybe he's just shy around so many dragons much bigger than him," said the ice blue dragon, Cyril.

He decided to snort, getting the attention of all in the room with the rather disrespectful gesture, but respect was something earned, and they had done nothing to earn it from him, "I am not shy, there was nothing worth using words for at the moment."

"Why you disrespectful little…" Cyril was about to berate Zar but Terrador shushed him with a look, Zar noticed the other four dragons his age sending glares his way, but he couldn't care less.

"Fascinating, armor plates made of an unknown material, weapons able to withstand and destroy equivalents of ours, and a mysterious vessel of unknown function," Volteer said at a rapid-fire pace, Zar knew his father wasn't exaggerating when he had been warned of meeting the Guardian of Electricity.

"That would be my personal ship, nothing more than what most Hunters use when travelling alone," Zar explained, "And I would like it back," he continued.

"Zar is a member of a clan of a species called Yautja, and his father was a dragon, his mother a Yautja," Spyro explained to the Guardians, which brought an intrigued look to the face of Terrador.

"Who is your father young dragon," he said, Zar guessed there was no harm, if he didn't say anything to them Spyro or Cynder would explain for him.

"My father is a dragon named Skyclaw," and the three Guardians looked at each other in surprise, the four younger dragons seemed confused.

"Are you sure," asked Cyril, and Zar nodded.

"Well, this is rather unexpected," said Volteer at almost a normal speed, and Terrador nodded to the other two adults.

Zar was now just as confused as the other young dragons looked, "Zar, did your father ever talk about his home," Terrador asked him, to which he hesitantly nodded, "Please, take off your mask," Terrador requested of him, and Zar hesitated, but then undid the seals of his mask, and took it off to clip it to a bandolier, causing a few gasps around the room.

"Whoa, are those tusks on his face," Flame blurted out, earning him a few sharp looks, but the Guardians looked at each other with worry, causing Zar more confusion.

"What is it Terrador," Spyro asked him, "Zar, your father told you about your uncle, correct," Terrador asked Zar, to which he nodded, trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible.

"What are you talking about, who is his uncle," Cynder asked impatiently.

"Zar's uncle was Ignitus," Terrador answered the young dragons. The four young dragons looked at Zar in shock, but Zar focused on something else.

"Was, you said 'was' didn't you," he asked, and Terrador nodded somberly, both of the other Guardians and Spyro and Cynder's faces becoming sad.

"Your uncle, Ignitus, is dead," said Terrador. To say Zar was surprised would be correct, but he had never known his uncle so he didn't grieve, but he had to know the reason why his father's brother was dead.

"How did he die," he asked.

Spyro and Cynder looked between themselves, "Ignitus died saving us from the Burning Lands, he couldn't keep up his fire shield, and he threw us to the other side so we could save our world," Spyro said, sadness evident, Zar guessed his uncle was Spyro's mentor of sorts.

"That's where you're wrong Spyro," Zar said, "This isn't my world, my world is the clan's ship, my home," he continued, seeing looks of surprise on the faces of the other dragons.

"So, your clan has more ships like yours," Ember asked, even though he doubted she knew what his ship looked like.

"Yes, only much bigger with the purpose of housing the entire clan that lives in space." There was a look of awe on Ember and Flame's faces as they looked at the hybrid, simple acknowledgement on the faces of the Guardians and Spyro and Cynder.

"Why is it you are here," rumbled Terrador, taking the subject away from Zar's clan.

"I came to confirm my father's theory about the legendary purple dragon saving the world, and he was right, and now I would prefer to leave," Zar answered.

"I'm afraid we can't let you leave," said Terrador, earning a glare with slightly flared mandibles from Zar, earning the hybrid some shocked looks from Ember and Flame.

"Let's see, we have multiple accounts of murder, assault, and maiming," rambled Volteer as Zar turned his attention to the Guardian of Electricity.

Terrador shushed the yellow dragon, "You have committed crimes against an ally of the Dragon Kingdom, and while the King would normally handle such a charge, your unique status means we will decide your punishment," Terrador said to him, Zar turning his head yet again to the green dragon.

"No prison you have will hold me for long," Zar said with a factual tone, "You don't know how my technology works, and I'm no doubt more powerful than the ones that will guard me, excluding the purple dragon of course," Cynder glared at him when he made the statement, but Terrador and the other Guardians looked thoughtful.

"You're right, but we will also take the destruction of the grublins into consideration as well for your sentencing," Cyril said, "So you will be staying here in the Temple and complete any task given to you by myself, Terrador, Volteer, or any other inhabitant of the Temple until we deem you ready to be set free."

"So it's forced labor then, fine," Zar said, "Nothing I can't handle," he continued with confidence.

Terrador looked at him, "Well, at least you are confident, now you need to find yourself a room here in the Temple," he said, "Then we have some tests for you to perform so that we may know your capabilities."

**A/N: I know I can hear some of you complaining about another exposition chapter, but believe me when I say I'm setting up for some good stuff, until then, see you all next time!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello again readers, and welcome to Chapter 3 of Dragon and Hunter. This is currently my third most viewed story, so OH YEAH! We will meet a couple new dragons in this installment, and that something interesting I promised. Please don't be shy to give this story a review, it lets me know what you all think, so please read, review, and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: See Prologue.**

Zar followed his assigned guides, Spyro and Cynder, through the hallways of the Temple, the other two dragons were obviously familiar with the layout, and Zar made careful note of different halls that his guides pointed out. It was then they entered the dormitory, and many doors lined the hall, and Zar was told that every dragon that lived in the Temple lived in one of the dormitories, and often they had to share with one or two others, the Guardians ensured males and females didn't share rooms though. "Alright, here we are, this is your room," Spyro said to him as the door was opened to one of the rooms, Zar made a note to mark its location, until he became familiar with the Temple's halls.

"You'll be sharing with two others, hope you don't mind," Cynder said to him, and he shook his head.

One of his roommates was in the room already, a dark red dragon with black horns and underbelly, and a club-shaped tail spade that had a rocky appearance; the dragon's eyes were a dark onyx. The other male was twice Zar's size, with a muscular build that belied a warrior's life, and his size indicated he was slightly older, maybe a couple years or so.

"Heh, who's the new guy, and what's with his mask, is he that ugly," the other dragon said with an arrogant smirk, already grating on Zar's nerves.

"Torch, leave him alone, he's not staying forever," Spyro said, and the other dragon snorted derisively, but Zar let it go again.

Cynder looked at Zar, "So, you know where your room is," she asked him, and he nodded.

"Alright, let's take you to the training hall, the Guardians want to test you," Spyro said.

"Ha ha, I want to see this," Torch said, getting up from his seat on the floor and joining them, although his presence seemed to irritate Zar's guides.

The walk to the training hall seemed to take longer than the trip to the dormitory, maybe because it was an actual longer distance, Zar's mask measured the distance and they had passed the marker for the dormitory's distance a few minutes ago.

Cynder came closer to Zar, and she whispered, "Zar, why didn't you defend yourself, Torch is a jerk, he could learn a thing or two from being beaten up."

He looked at her, "He wouldn't be worth my time," he simply said, quiet enough to not risk being overheard.

The rest of the way was spent in silence, and the group came to another set of doors, looking more recently used, and entered the training hall. The hall was a rectangular shape with rounded corners, and dragons of all age groups were training in various forms of combat in the hall, ranging from small dragons striking stationary dummies to sparring with each other for older trainees. Cyril was instructing some of the trainees as they blasted some stationary dummies with various elemental powers, and Zar saw Volteer supervising a pair of dragons as they whipped through the air in aerial combat exercises. Terrador sat at the opposite end of the hall before a circle on the floor that was slightly larger than the others, and the group of four dragons started walking towards the Guardian of Earth immediately.

Many of the trainees, especially those younger than Zar and his company, stopped what they were doing to stare at the strangely armored dragon as he walked past. Zar also saw what appeared to be a young yellow dragoness supervising a pair of younger trainees as they were clawing and beating at dummies, she was a bright almost neon yellow, with a dark grey underbelly and pale lavender horns, and her eyes were a storm cloud grey as she followed the gaze of her trainees to look at him.

Zar blushed under his mask when she caught him looking at her, he didn't know why he was reacting this way, but he quickly returned his attention to their destination, but he could sense the strange dragoness was following them. He noticed that Flame and Ember were also there to watch, but he also noticed them glare at Torch, 'so this 'Torch' is disliked by not just Spyro and Cynder, and myself of course,' he thought to himself. The group then reached the circle, and Zar saw the yellow dragoness from earlier walking around and joining Terrador on his left side, as Spyro, Cynder, and Torch did on his right, Terrador nodding to the younger dragons.

"Zar, are you ready to begin," Terrador asked him, and Zar nodded, already beginning his preparations in his breathing and mental exercises.

* * *

Zar stepped into the circle, and only mildly jumped when the edges of the circle erupted with low flames, he had guessed he wasn't supposed to leave the circle, but now it seemed they were ensuring it.

"Enemies will come at you in five distinct waves, each will be more difficult than the last, now, let the evaluation begin," Terrador said. There were small rumbling sounds and half dozen small bipedal shapes popped up from the ground, made of earth and rock, 'easy pickings,' Zar thought. He reared up and stood on his hind legs, and clenched his paws into fists, his wrist blades _hissing_ into place, and some mild exclamations from the observers, he leapt towards the nearest opponent, his blades dismembering the dummy with ease. He spun, his right arm outstretched with blades extended, and decapitated another of the dummies, leaving its headless body to slump to the ground, he deactivated his left wrist blades and reached for a disc, and it unfolded in a few seconds.

He drew it back and threw it, the bladed circle scything through the midsection of another dummy and then bouncing off the wall, cutting a deep groove into the stone, and followed the laser sight of his mask to decapitate another. He caught his disc, and watched the remaining two dummies charge him at once, and just like his teachers taught him, he swung the disc in a deadly arc, cutting the dummies into gravel.

The utter carnage he had wrought in the first wave carried on to the next wave, a larger number of the small dummies with some that were larger. He decided to use both discs as he spun in a dervish of blades through the dummies, using his tail blade as much as his discs to cut his opponents to ribbons.

* * *

He came to the third wave which had a small number, about four, of the small ones, and had one that dwarfed them and him, wielding a large wooden mallet. He opened his jaws and breathed fire through his specially hinged mask and setting two of the smaller dummies alight, who started running around in panic. Zar whipped his combi-stick into his paws and it telescoped into its full length, earning him some more gasps from the onlookers that had gathered. The other two dummies charged and he batted the first one away with a sharp blow, nearly caving in its shoulder, and he spun to stab backwards, impaling the other charging dummy on its point. He jerked the weapon free, the dummy falling unmoving, and the large dummy charged, Zar leaping out of the way as the mallet impacted the floor with a mighty _crack_. Zar finished the other dummy with a quick stab through the head; the dummies he had set on fire had fallen to the flames, leaving the mallet-wielding dummy standing.

Zar turned to face the large dummy, combi-stick in hand, the dummy charged, mallet swinging wildly, Zar parried the weapon and the mallet's head slid off the spear, sending the dummy reeling. Zar collapsed the spear and leapt on the dummy's shoulders, paws taking position on its head. The dummy tried flailing at him to get him off, but Zar quickly started wrenching the head to the side, with a sound of cracking stone the head was violently twisted to the side, and then torn off, Zar leaping off of the construct as it fell to the ground, the head still held in his paws. He dropped the head as he realized there were no more waves coming, he was on the third, then he heard leather creaking and looked to find some sort of flying construct swoop down on him.

* * *

He flattened himself against the ground and managed to avoid the talons of the construct, it shrieked as it missed him, but he quickly gathered and leapt, landing on the back of the dummy, forcing it down. The two crashed into the ground, nearly skidding into the flaming border of the circle, but Zar leapt off of the construct's back, and stood in a half hunched position, his wrist blades hissing into place, he then retracted them and thought he'd have some fun, and pressed a button on his gauntlet, causing him to turn invisible. There were fewer exclamations, most likely from the younger trainees, and Zar smirked under his mask, and the construct looked around in confusion, unable to see Zar as he sauntered up to it.

He grabbed the construct in his paws, uncloaking as he did so, and threw it to the other side of the circle, charging after it, then he grasped at the shoulder, and tore the winged arm out of its socket through brute force, causing the construct to squeal in pain he doubted it really felt, and then retrieved his dagger from its sheath. He kicked the construct onto its back, sand leaking from its missing arm socket, and pinned it under himself, standing over it, and held the dagger high, and brought it down in a flash, stabbing the construct through the chest. It gave a final twitch and lay still, Zar pulled his dagger free and returned it to its sheath.

* * *

'Final wave,' Zar thought. The ground shook as a massive construct of stone pulled itself out of the floor, dwarfing the adult dragons in height. Its arms hung nearly to the floor as it turned and regarded the hybrid. Zar put his weapons down, letting them drop onto the floor, even the dagger.

"What is he doing?" asked Ember, but she was quickly shushed by the other dragons around her, the dragoness cringing slightly.

Weapons discarded, Zar reached up, and took off his mask with a _hiss_ of air. Many murmurings from the audience reached his hearing, but he wasn't listening as he focused on the fight to come.

* * *

The golem drew its stone fist back with a grinding sound, before the limb shot forward towards the hybrid. Zar leapt aside as the fist crashed into floor with a thunderous _boom_, missing his tail by inches. Zar took this time to analyze his opponent; the legs were smaller than the torso itself, and seemed to bear a lot of the construct's weight, the head was dwarfed by the golem's shoulders, and the joints ground against each other as it turned towards him.

The golem's right fist pulled back, and lunged forward towards Zar. The hybrid ducked under and ran on all fours towards the golem's leg. Sliding into a standing position, Zar unsheathed the wrist blades, and slashed back and forth at the golem's knee, cutting grooves and weakening the joint. The golem made a guttural cry that sounded like crashing boulders, and attempted to stomp on Zar with the foot he had attacked.

Jumping back with enhanced agility, Zar again attacked the golem's knee, until finally the lower leg was separated from the rest of it. The golem crashed to one knee, and it madly swiped with its arms to attempt to get at the hybrid, but its own bulky torso left it unable to reach.

Standing on two legs, Zar backed up, and then ran towards the golem's back. Leaping forward, Zar ran on his hind legs up the golem's back, dragging his blades along it as he went, drawing sparks and small grooves. Reaching the middle of the shoulders, Zar jumped, twisting in midair. Reaching out, Zar grabbed hold of the golem's head, taking a foothold on the lip of the construct's collar. Zar brought his other limb out, blades unsheathed, looking into the gems that substituted eyes for the golem. The gems seemed to flash in recognition of its imminent "death," and Zar quickly ended the fight, slashing his blades through the stone neck, severing the head.

As the golem's body crashed to the ground, Zar leapt off and stood with his trophy. Raising it, he inhaled deeply, and _ROARED_, raising his own head upwards as his mandibles flared full width.

Looking around, panting slightly, Zar observed the crowd. The Guardians looked like they couldn't believe their eyes, even Volteer was speechless. Ember had decided hiding behind Flame would protect her from the hybrid warrior before them, while Flame looked just as flabbergasted as the Guardians. Spyro and Cynder had mouths only slightly less agape than the other dragons due to prior experience, but even they seemed to be taken aback by his raw skill. Torch, and many of the older trainees in the audience seemed to be trying hard to not look impressed, while others were doing a good impression of landlocked fish. Many of the younger trainees took to hiding behind larger dragons, three of which hid behind the yellow dragoness Zar had noticed earlier. The dragoness herself had both of her eye ridges raised and her mouth slightly agape.

Terrador cleared his throat, "Ahem, I believe we have seen enough, you are dismissed Zar."

Inclining his head, Zar gathered his weapons, put on his mask, and stood outside the circle while Spyro and Cynder took up positions on either side of him and led him out of the training hall.

"I've never seen someone fight like that, so brutal," said Spyro to Zar as the group walked to Zar didn't know where.

"It was the way my teachers taught me, nothing more, nothing less," Zar responded. He still had his mask on, lending his voice a metallic tone.

"Wait up," another voice yelled, and the three dragons turned to see the young yellow dragoness trotting to catch up to them.

"Hi Storm," Cynder said to the yellow dragoness as she caught up to them. 'So she is the dragoness that made me act strangely,' thought Zar as he looked at her, and she looked at him with some trepidation, "Where did you learn to fight like that," Storm asked Zar, who needed a moment to recognize she asked a question, and asking him about things was technically a task given to him.

"The Elites of my clan taught me how to use their weapons, and my father taught me of my inherited elemental powers," he explained.

Storm nodded, "So where are you three going," she asked them.

"Lunch," Spyro said simply, causing Cynder to giggle,

"You can think about eating after that," Storm said exasperatedly. Zar heard his own stomach grumble, he had only eaten a small meal from his ship's rations this morning, and the two females giggled.

"Alright, the mess hall is this way," Spyro said, and the group started down the hall to go there.

"Storm, there you are, what are you doing with all the dead weight," said an arrogant voice behind them, and Zar instantly knew it was Torch. The group turned to face the red dragon, which was standing behind them looking expectantly at Storm.

"What, I can't go to lunch with my friends," Storm asked the arrogant dragon heatedly.

"Whatever, come on, let's go get lunch together, not with the losers," Torch said as he walked over and put a wing rather possessively over Storm's shoulders. This action raised Zar's hackles as Storm did not look pleased with having Torch's wing over her shoulders, and he couldn't help growling audibly. "What's your problem Tuskface," Torch said to him with contempt, doing his best to look down on Zar over his snout.

"You need to learn to respect females," Zar said quietly to Torch, who seemed to have heard him and snorted.

"And you need to learn to respect your superiors," he retorted. "Or did they not tell you who I am," Torch added as he pressed Storm closer to his side, earning an unseen death glare from Zar, as a look of mild disgust crossed Storm's face. Zar felt a paw on his shoulder, and looked to see Spyro shake his head at him, Zar was really reluctant, but he followed the other two dragons as they walked away, leaving Storm with Torch.

"Who is Torch exactly," Zar asked as Spyro and Cynder led him to the mess hall.

Cynder answered his question, "Torch is the Prince of the Dragon Kingdom in this region of the world, and he is here to train to the best of his potential," her voice was rather forced, like a speech she had rehearsed over and over. Zar's father had told him of the many kingdoms of dragons in the world, and other nations of other species, it wasn't often the different kingdoms of dragons worked together, usually only when a global threat emerged, but the combined might of the dragons was a force to be reckoned with.

"He's also a spoiled brat, and thinks he can get away with anything because of his status," Spyro added, a frown forming on his face.

"He also seems to think he can act any way he wants with females," Zar added, "Why does Storm even tolerate him," he asked rather snappily.

"It's because he's the Prince," Cynder said, her tone leaving no doubt to Zar that Cynder disliked the situation as much as he did.

"And it keeps him from flirting with others," Spyro said rather venomously. Zar could guess Torch had flirted with Cynder before Storm had stepped in, leading to Spyro's anger.

"Had this been a clan matter, Torch would lose his head for disrespecting her," Zar said. Spyro and Cynder seemed rather surprised, so Zar explained, "Yautja females are highly respected among Yautja society, as they are the ones who raise the next generation of the clan, and also administrate many clan matters." The other two dragons seemed to understand now, so the group settled into silence.

**A/N: Well, did I deliver or what? Warning: exposition ahead next chapter. Also would like to say thanks to .Chaos97 for giving this story a review, and I know of my tendency to create run-on paragraphs, I have hopefully fixed that problem.**

**For those who are wondering, Zar's roar is mixed with the roar you hear from a Predator/Yautja in victory. In addition, I don't really plan for Xenomorphs to make an appearance, except for maybe a cameo of sorts. Until then, see ya next time.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello again readers, this is Chapter 4 of Dragon and Hunter, what was it, two weeks since the last chapter, it felt long overdue let me tell you. This was a rater intense chapter to write, felt a little forced at the beginning, but once I got it rolling it sort of wrote itself.**

**Newsflash: This story is now the most viewed this month, and total views are over 500, I'd like to give a big thanks to all of my readers for this, and taking the time to read these stories of mine, thank you. I will also make it clear PM's about my stories or anything relating to FF is welcome, I will always try to respond as quick as I can.**

**Please read, review, and enjoy**

**Disclaimer: See Prologue**

The journey to the Temple's cafeteria was uneventful for the trio of dragons. The group was still silent after that encounter with Torch.

Upon entering the cafeteria, Zar took a look around. It was a rectangular hall just like the training hall, except the cafeteria was larger by far. Long table lined the room going from one end to the other. Many dragons of a multitude of colors were sitting down and eating, or chatting with friends. It seemed to Zar that many of the other dragons had had the same idea as Spyro.

Many eyes turned to regard the trio when the doors opened, but just as quickly returned to whatever they were doing, although much more subdued than before. Spyro led the other two to the end of the line for food. Spyro and Cynder got a mixture of food, lamb with a few pieces of fruit to balance out the nutrients. Zar, however, made a small pile of meat on his tray, beef and a few other varieties among the selection. The hybrid explained quickly that the Yautja diet consisted of meat alone, and he needed a higher percentage of it in his diet than another dragon.

Finding a table that was mostly empty, the trio of dragons sat down, with Spyro and Cynder sitting across from each other with Zar sitting to Spyro's right. Spyro immediately dug in, practically putting his face in his food, Cynder took a more reasonable pace, eating moderately, while Zar was somewhere in between, removing his mask and eating heartily while not making a small mess like Spyro was.

"So, what's it like, living in space," Cynder asked Zar, the hybrid paused to think.

"It is very beautiful, the space is so vast, and so many different things live out there, it makes worlds like this one feel, so very small, I guess," Zar replied.

Spyro perked up at Zar's explanation, "What kinds of things," he asked.

"Many different species, some smarter than others, many stranger than others," Zar said with a small chuckle, "But nothing more exhilarating to hunt than the _Kiande Amedha_, the Serpents."

"What is that," Cynder asked, her head cocked to the side.

"The best prey, the ultimate prey, every young Hunter has to kill one to become an adult, and we mark our foreheads and _Dai-shui_, our masks, with their blood to engrave the symbol of our clan on them," Zar explained, motioning to his own head and mask, "Their exoskeletons are used to make some of our weapons, like my dagger."

"What does that symbol mean, and how does the blood mark the mask, and your head," Cynder asked.

"The blood is acidic," Zar answered, earning an involuntary flinch from the dragoness, then he continued, "My clan's symbol, regards the balance between honor, and madness," Zar explained, taking hold of his mask in his paw and running the other one over it, "Some Yautja, known as _Hish_ have a small organ, called the kill gland, which if overstimulated, will make them lose themselves in blood lust, unable to determine friend from foe," he sighed, "It is a difficult path to walk, one I have had a brush with, I too am one."

Spyro and Cynder's faces both took on a downcast look, "So you know what it's like," Spyro said, Zar cocked his head to the side. "To have this other side of you, one that you aren't sure you can control sometimes," Spyro continued, "A side of you that, if you let it out, would hurt everyone you care about."

Zar was now very confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Some of Malefor's energy tainted Spyro a few years ago," Cynder explained, her eyes taking a reminiscent look, "He saved me from Mt. Malefor, from the leader of the apes, Gaul, but in doing so he exposed himself to dark energy, and it has been with him ever since, just like what happened to me."

Zar nodded, "I see."

Silence reigned for a few minutes, the three dragons having returned to their meals, albeit with much less gusto than before.

"Hi there big boy," said a female voice behind Zar, speaking in a seductive tone. The hybrid involuntarily stiffened, his eyes widening and mandibles flaring slightly as the other two dragons at the table looked in curiosity.

There was a medium-sized dragoness standing behind Zar, with light forest green scales and four silver colored straight horns and an earth colored frill running down her back and spine, with a similar colored underbelly with silver claws. The dragoness' wing membranes were the same color as her underbelly. Her dark green eyes were centered on Zar as the hybrid turned around, her lascivious expression unchanging. "Uhh," Zar said uncertainly, his expression remaining plastered on his face.

"Emerald, where are you," another female voice called out, "there you are."

Another dragoness hurried over and started talking to the green one, she was an ocean blue with six ruby red slightly curled horns, a red underbelly and claws, her wing membranes black, small spikes running down her spine, "Emerald, what did I tell you about wandering off," she scolded.

"Aw, come on Sapphire, I wasn't doing anything bad, yet," the green dragoness, now known as Emerald, said with a playful wink at Zar, whose face started turning red.

"She hasn't caused any trouble for you has she," Sapphire asked, giving the trio a pleading look, and Spyro and Cynder shook their heads, Zar remaining silent and appearing dead to the world. Sapphire saw the look on Zar's face, "I'm sorry, she's in heat," she said apologetically. If anything, Zar's expression became more pronounced and his posture stiffer.

"Come along Emerald," Sapphire said, hooking Emerald's wing with her own, and the green dragoness followed with a small pout, her hips swaying suggestively as Sapphire led her away.

"Well, that was random," Spyro said, and Cynder nodded in agreement as Zar turned back around, his expression slowly returning to neutral.

"Zar, you okay," Cynder asked the hybrid, looking slightly concerned. He nodded.

"Estrus, heat, is more extreme in Yautja females," Zar explained, "They will produce a musk that makes males more aggressive and likely to fight." Zar's eyes took on a haunted look, Spyro and Cynder looked at each other, an unspoken agreement to not ask him about it passed between them.

"Hey guys, hi Zar," Flame's voice called to them, the trio turning to see the red dragon looking rather cross as he approached. Ember was following, and she shied away slightly when she saw Zar notice her, hiding behind Flame again.

Flame and Ember sat across from Spyro and Zar, and Zar took the time to take a good look at them. "You two are related," he said, it wasn't a question.

"We're cousins," Flame answered flatly, looking at Zar with a heated expression.

"What's got your scales in a bunch buddy," Spyro asked, Zar cocking his head slightly in curiosity.

"He scared Kindle," Flame responded, turning to look at Spyro, who nodded in understanding.

Zar however was still confused, "Who," he asked.

"My little brother," Ember answered.

"It's bad enough Torch and his stooges give him a hard time," Flame began, "but I don't want him to be afraid of some freak that can turn invisible too."

Zar started to stand and snarled, "If you are insinuating that I would harm a child, you are gravely mistaken," his voice low.

"Zar, calm down, you know he didn't mean it like that," Cynder said, a slight tone of worry in her voice.

"He can insult me all he wants," Zar snapped, rising fully to his feet, "but I will not tolerate such an affront to my honor.

The cafeteria had gone deathly quiet, all eyes focusing on the hybrid and the red dragon. Flame had gotten to his feet as well, and was matching Zar glare for glare.

"Stop," yelled a voice, it sounded like it belonged to a young child.

The two dragons turned to see a small, fiery orange dragon with four pale tan horns and underbelly, dark orange fin-like spines running down his back, wing membranes of the same color, with bright yellow eyes running towards them.

"Kindle," Ember said as she saw the youngster approach. Zar could estimate that Kindle was very young by dragon standards, his head just came up to the hybrid's chest.

"Flame, what are you doing," Kindle panted as he reached the table.

Flame stopped glaring at Zar to answer his cousin, "I'm keeping you safe," he growled.

The young dragon looked at the hybrid, Zar not taking his eyes off of Flame, "Why," he asked innocently.

"He scared you," was Flame's only explanation, returning to a glaring contest with Zar.

"Remember when we first came here, and met the Guardians the first time," Kindle asked Flame, the random question breaking the staring contest.

"Oh yeah," Ember said, "You were scared stiff of Terrador, thinking he was going to step on you," she giggled slightly.

"And you told me," Kindle said, "that just because someone is scary, doesn't mean they are out to get me."

Flame seemed to think about these words as Zar considered them himself, he never would have tried to hurt the young dragon before him, unless provoked to do so as honor dictated.

Flame's stance shrunk slightly, "You're right Kindle, and Zar," Zar turned his head to look at Flame, "I'm sorry."

Zar nodded in acknowledgement of Flame's apology, and sat back down, as did Flame, Kindle sitting beside his big sister.

As the remaining food was eaten, conversation started back up again.

"You said that you had your own ship," Ember stated, looking at Zar, the hybrid nodding.

"Yes," he responded.

"Can we see it," Ember asked again, Zar took a moment to think about his response.

"I don't have much choice, now do I," he answered.

"As long as the Guardians approve," Spyro added, and Cynder nodded agreement.

* * *

The group of now five dragons padded down the halls of the Temple, having asked directions from a work crew of moles on where the spaceship was. Zar kept his mask off as he walked, earning him many weird stares as different groups of moles or dragons passed.

Upon reaching the doorway to their destination, they found the door guarded by Cyril, who nodded to Spyro and Cynder. "Greetings younglings, what is it you need," he asked.

"We would like to take a look inside Zar's ship," Cynder answered, and the Ice Guardian gave the hybrid a frosty look, apparently still annoyed about Zar disrespecting him earlier.

"Keep an eye on him," Cyril advised as he stepped aside, the door opening to let the group through.

"Oooh," Ember said, awe permeating her voice as the group entered the room that held Zar's craft. It was angular in shape, reminiscent of a barbed arrowhead, with a triangular hull and two big wings that curved at sharp angles to the hull, with a secondary set that were midway to the nose. The entire craft was a dull gray in color, not even reflecting the light within the chamber. The other four dragons were looking at the ship in awe as they approached.

Zar pressed a button on his gauntlet, and a compartment opened in the belly of the ship with a _hiss_. Lighting came into being, dim light that the purebred dragons in the group had to squint slightly to see inside. Zar gave a small chuckle, "Yautja heat vision comes in very handy," he joked. With a motion to follow him, the group entered the ship.

They found the hybrid standing waiting for them at the top of the ramp, "You may look, but do not touch," he stated with a note of finality.

* * *

**(Cynder POV)**

As the group proceeded, Cynder took a little time to inspect Zar. The hybrid's stance and posture was much more relaxed here in the alien craft, it was like he knew every nook and cranny. She also took a glance at his eyes when he turned back to make sure they were following, and it surprised her when she noticed a faint glow emanating from them.

It wasn't long before Zar stopped at a small intersection and turned to look at them, "That way is to the bridge," he said while motioning to his right, "Behind me is the way to my quarters and trophy room and to my left is the engines and cargo, which way you want to go first?"

"I want to see the bridge," Kindle exclaimed excitedly, practically hopping up and down in excitement, Cynder had to stifle a small giggle at his high energy.

Zar looked from her to the others, "I would like to see the bridge too," Ember said, with nearly as much enthusiasm as her younger sibling.

"What did you say about trophies," Flame asked, and Cynder found herself nodding in agreement with Spyro.

"Very well, the bridge first, then the trophies," Zar said, and he went down the corridor to the left, the rest of the group following.

* * *

**(Zar POV)**

"Wow," said Kindle and Ember at the exact same time when the door to the bridge opened. Zar couldn't help shaking his head slightly at their sense of wonder.

"It seems smaller than I imagined it," Flame said, although the red dragon was hiding his own amazement rather badly. Cynder had walked up to the controls, a warning glance from Zar kept her from touching them, but the panels were lit up with the Yautja language, which to any other species would look like shapes made out of dashes.

Kindle and Ember had taken to simply wandering the small space looking at the different panels and through the viewport, which showed nothing but the wall of the room outside.

"How do you know where you are going, there was no window on the outside," Kindle asked, curiosity plastered on his face.

"The viewport is linked to cameras facing forwards on the outside, and they form the complete image of what is in front of the ship," Zar answered, motioning to the screen in question.

"What is this made out of," Spyro asked, pointing with a claw to the walls and floor.

"Sorry, trade secret, if I told you I would have to kill you and myself," Zar said, the eyes of the other dragons widening.

"You, you're joking, right," Ember said uncertainly, the hybrid only answering by shaking his head. Ember gulped.

Cynder decided to change the subject, "How about we go see the trophy room," she said hurriedly, and their guide nodded and ushered the group out.

* * *

It was another short walk to the intersection and then to the trophy room. As they came to the door, Zar gave them a warning look, "These are especially important to me, do not tamper with them in the slightest," he growled.

Skulls, skulls, and more skulls lined the walls of the small room. Some of them still had spinal cords attached, but all of them were the white of bleached bone. "Cool," Kindle muttered as he looked at the skulls like they were pieces in a museum display. Cynder was slightly more hesitant, and it looked like the other older dragons aside from Zar were slightly uncomfortable going into the room as well. She remembered one of Cyril's history lessons, in particular a dragon murderer who kept the heads of his victims preserved in a cellar.

The black dragoness noticed Zar was moving towards the end of the room, where one skull was on display on a particular sort of mantle. It was long, and shaped sort of like a banana, or an altogether **different** sort of thing, her tail unconsciously tucked slightly as she had that thought. The hybrid took something off of the bandolier, and she recognized it as the head of the golem he had defeated earlier. Zar muttered something in the same language as earlier, the weird series of growls and clicks she couldn't understand, and placed the golem's head in a similar mount to the other skulls on the walls.

"What thing did that one come from," Kindle asked in wonder, Cynder noticed the youngster was now looking at the skull at the end of the room.

"It came from a Drone _Kiande Amedha_, a Serpent," Zar answered, "It was how I passed my Blooding and gained the blade of my dagger from her tail."

"Her, Drone," Cynder stated, "So they are like bugs," she asked.

"In a way, they live in hives and the Yautja cultivate the Queens for Blooding trials, they are known for adapting the useful traits from hosts into themselves," Zar explained. Cynder shuddered at the thought, a type of creature that could adapt themselves to the hosts they came from.

* * *

**(Zar POV)**

"Uh, Zar, where exactly are you going to be living," Flame asked uncertainly.

"West Dormitory, fifth room on the right, why," Zar asked. Flame sighed in relief.

"Great, I won't be dealing with Torch alone then," Flame replied, Zar understood now.

He then had a thought, "Go to the ramp and then wait for me there," he said.

"Wait a minute, we're supposed to keep an eye on you," Spyro interjected.

"I won't leave, I am simply leaving my mask and armor here where they will be safe," Zar replied, "on my honor," the hybrid added.

Zar watched as the group left towards the ramp, he took the left to his quarters, the door opening to the dimly lit room. He took in the familiar smell of blood and metal and then walked over to the compartment to put away his armor. First went the bandoliers onto small pegs, the metal plates having their own holders as well. The body suit was trickier, but he had long since mastered getting it on and off, being folded neatly and placed into a drawer, and finally his mask. Stroking it fondly, he placed it on the wall with the assorted metal pieces in their places on the wall next to the bed.

The hybrid walked slowly down the corridor to the ramp, apprehension dogging his mind and steps. He was about to take steps out of his comfort zone, he had only ever been without his armor in the clan's mother ship, and there were potentially hostile elements out there. Taking a deep breath, he exited into the brighter room outside.

**A/N: So, what do you think of that? I added the little POV change notes since I felt the line breaks weren't enough during this chapter. If you want to know where I get my information on the Yautja from, it is the AVP wiki, and somewhere else I remember reading but I can't for the life of me remember. Z3R0, hope you like what Zar has mounted on his wall.**

**Until next time, see ya!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey everyone, here's the next chapter of Dragon and Hunter. Okay, so the last chapter I was a little crass on my joke, but I think the chapter as a whole served its purpose to move the story forward, so it's good the way it is in my mind.**

**Disclaimer: See Prologue.**

**Without further ado: Please read, review, and enjoy.**

Ember fidgeted as she sat with her cousin and brother, waiting for Zar to come out of the ship. It hadn't been very long, but the anticipation to see what the hybrid looked like without his armor was eating away at her. The most she or any other dragon at the Temple had seen was his face, paws, and tail, and she would be among the first to see the rest of him. It was really a good thing Zar would be sharing a room with Flame; her cousin would either keep the hybrid from tearing Torch's head off, or at least provide a witness when the Prince finally crossed a line.

Spyro and Cynder didn't seem to be any more patient than her, the purple dragon was pacing as the black dragoness followed him with her eyes whenever she wasn't watching the ramp of the alien craft in the room. Ember's blood still rose whenever she looked at the other dragoness, what did Spyro see in her anyway, she was the servant of the Dark Master for most of her life for crying out loud!

"Look," said Kindle to her right, and he was motioning with his head towards the dim entrance. It was Zar; he had finally come out of the darkness of the ship.

As he came into the light Ember was able to make out more detail. He was definitely bulkier than a dragon his size and age. His dark blue scales covered his entire length, and were tinged with the color of cream, similar to the streak on his muzzle. An inky hair-like fringe ran down his back to his tail, ending an inch before his tail blade, short and spiky in style. His underbelly was a pale shade of white. One of the things that was most startling to her were the scars, a network of faint scars could be seen crisscrossing his muscular chest and further along his length. The pink dragoness could feel herself blushing as she traced the small scars along the muscle.

The hybrid regarded the dragons for a moment, taking in their reactions, before turning to a panel on the ship next to the ramp. Ember couldn't help but gasp in surprise at what she saw.

On Zar's right shoulder, very close to where the shoulder muscle met the socket, was a discolored spot that had no scales. It was roughly circular in shape and the scales around it seemed to have very rough edges where they bordered the scar. As the hybrid finished the turn, Ember could see that the spot was slightly sunken, like something had torn a chunk out of him.

Pressing some buttons on the panel, the ramp retracted into the belly of the ship. Walking out from under it, Ember saw another big scar. A long slash-like mark, similar to old sword wounds, ran upwards and over his hip, barely missing his haunch. Ember had no doubt that it ran under his belly as well. Zar stood before the group of dragons, waiting for them to say something, a stoic expression on his face and a tense posture.

"Where'd you get those scars," Kindle blurted out. Ember shot her little brother a look that made the younger dragon cringe.

A smirk crossed the hybrid's face, one that sent chills down Ember's spine; it was the smirk of a predator that had its prey cornered. Motioning to his shoulder, he explained, "This was from my Blooding Hunt, you saw what caused it among my trophies." That smirk stayed as he reared up, that scar Ember had seen earlier did indeed run along his belly.

"This one was from a Hunt on the planet Hydragus, from a creature whose name translates to Sea-Spear," the hybrid's explanation continued. Ember guessed that the offending creature had also found its head mounted on Zar's wall.

Kindle made a small sound of awe as Zar pointed out the more visible scars, but Cynder interrupted.

"Well, there's still some time before final classes and dinner, then lights out," she said, "Anything you want to do?"

Zar answered almost immediately, "I would like to see what these final classes are."

Spyro nodded and led the group out. Ember couldn't help sneaking glances Zar's direction, wondering just what he had been doing to earn those scars.

* * *

As the group wandered the halls of the Temple to final classes, Zar wondered just what they were. During the explanation from earlier, he knew that there were classrooms aside from the training room, but knew little else. As the others led him through the halls, they passed more groups of dragons, some carrying books or other supplies in leather pouches they wore around their necks.

Ember's reaction earlier puzzled him, what was it about him that surprised her, and she had blushed when first seeing him, his heat vision picking up the increased temperature in her cheeks. He knew she kept looking at him, she wasn't exactly subtle, but he humored her and didn't let on that he knew, keeping a stoic visage.

It was so alien a feeling to be without his armor and weapons outside of his own or the clan's ship. He felt very tense, the halls of the Temple had a vaguely rounded shape in its walls and ceiling, it reminded him very much of the tunnels of a Serpent Hive. Too much. And he was without protection of any kind.

Cynder seemed to notice his unease, "Relax Zar, you're safe here, nothing's going to pop out and attack you."

"AHH," yelled a voice as something small and yellow flashed around a nearby corner and collided head on with Zar's face.

It was a dragonfly, a small, yellow, dragonfly, which glowed with a golden light. The insect was sprawled across the hybrid's muzzle, as Zar glared at the offending insect.

"Oh, what hit me," the dragonfly identified itself as a male as he looked up and into the glaring eyes of Zar.

"Oh my gosh that's ugly," the newcomer exclaimed as he darted away to hover beside Spyro.

"Sparx, what are you doing," asked Spyro.

The dragonfly turned around and spoke hurriedly, "The Guardians told me you found the guy who took out the Grublins, and that you and the queen of terror would be showing him around, I couldn't just leave you like that bro."

"This is Zar," Cynder introduced the hybrid, if she was annoyed by Sparx' insult, she wasn't showing it, "He did take out those grublins himself."

The insect hovered over to the hybrid, and looked at his face, "Yeesh, with a face like that, I bet they dropped dead just by looking at 'im."

Zar heard the others take a sharp intake of breath, Ember's was especially loud, Zar looked the dragonfly dead in the eye and said in a low tone, "Listen to me insect, if you annoy me any further, then punishment or no, I will end you."

There was complete silence as Sparx backed away from the hybrid.

Spyro quickly interjected, "Don't mind him Sparx, he's just a little on edge."

With a stiff nod, the hybrid acknowledged.

A low bell note tolled, resounding through the halls, "Oh great, we're going to be late," Ember moaned. Zar heard Kindle snicker slightly at the rhyme. The group then hurried off, the new dragonfly in tow.

The group came to a door that led to the outside, "What is this," Zar asked.

"It leads to the outdoor training area, our final class is out here," Cynder answered.

Bursting through the door, the final bell tolled to signal the start of the class. The area was a lot bigger than the indoor area, there was equipment ranging from stationary dummies, weight equipment, to a larger version of the training circles in the indoor hall.

A group of dragons were assembled in front of Terrador; the large green dragon looked at the group as they hurried to the back of the assembly. "Alright young dragons," the Guardian of Earth rumbled, "Today is Tournament Day," there were various rumblings among the students ranging from excitement to dread.

At Zar's curious look Cynder turned and answered, "Everyone is going to be matched up in one-on-one matches in the big ring," Zar acknowledged with a nod.

"Torch is the reigning champ, unfortunately," Spyro muttered, Zar guessed he wasn't meant to hear it, but he did anyway.

"Now, gather at the ring and we shall see who will be first," Terrador's voice cut off any further conversation as the assemblage of dragons congregated around the ring in the center of the clearing. Zar thought he caught a familiar flash of yellow in the crowd as they did so.

Once the class had finished milling into their places, Terrador spoke, "You all know the rules, the winner is the one who makes their opponent call for mercy or forces their opponent out of the ring, now, the first match is Ember and Diamond."

* * *

Zar watched as Ember and a shining white dragoness with pale grey horns and underbelly stepped into the ring. Both dragonesses were even in height, but where Ember had a slightly stocky frame, Diamond was built like a predatory cat, lithe with muscle that rippled under her hide. Even as they circled, they were very different, Diamond was moving with her head parallel to the ground as she prowled. Ember kept her head high and every muscle was tensed, ready to be brought into action against her opponent.

"Begin," Terrador announced, and Diamond leapt with the speed of a bullet. Ember barely had time to dodge her opponent's claws as the other dragoness landed where the pink had been moments before. Not wasting the opportunity, Ember launched towards the white dragoness, probably hoping to close with the lighter dragoness to bring her weight and strength advantage into play.

The two clashed and Ember managed to get a blunt blow to Diamond's side, nearly knocking the other dragoness off her feet. Diamond lashed out with her own paws, a slap-like blow colliding with Ember's face, stunning her more than it seemed to hurt her.

Disengaging, Diamond leapt to nearly the other side of the ring, then swinging her tail across the ground and into the air. Zar noticed that some sort parts of the ring were gathered on the strange, flanged tail spade the dragoness possessed, and then they started glowing.

Swinging her tail towards Ember in a whip-like motion, the projectiles careened towards Ember. With a yelp, Ember jumped away, the projectiles embedding themselves into the ring with solid _thunks_. From his viewpoint in the crowd, Zar looked at the projectiles closely, what he saw shocked him. What had originally been rocks, were round, faceted, pieces of diamond, glinting from where they lay.

Turning his attention back to the match at hand, he found Ember had closed again. A bruise on her left flank marked where Diamond must have gotten in a lucky shot. The white dragoness was also sporting a fresh bruise on her cheek now, no doubt courtesy of Ember's pummeling as she had closed the distance again; raining blows upon her opponent without relent.

Managing to grapple her opponent, Ember pinned Diamond under her and began pressing a paw on her neck. "Mercy, I yield," Diamond yelped, Ember immediately releasing and helping the other dragoness up.

"The winner is Ember," Terrador announced to small cheers from the crowd, including Spyro and Cynder.

* * *

The next match involved Torch and a lanky electric dragon named Volt, the latter crumbling under a furious assault of physical blows and fire almost as soon as Terrador announced the match to begin. The Prince waiting a very slight second after his opponent had shouted mercy before letting him up.

When Spyro was announced to go against a wind dragon named Dervish, it was different; Spyro used a mixture of his elements as well as strategy, finding that Dervish favored striking from the air and turning the advantage around by gaining air superiority himself. He had eventually harried his opponent out of the ring, gaining the victory.

Cynder was a different matter; she struck with strategic precision, using a strange shadow power where she leaped out of her own shadow with claws wreathed in shadow energy, to take down her opponents quickly and easily. Or, she would use a strange scream-like power that made even Zar shudder a little, to force her opponents into submission.

"Next, is Zar, and Storm," Terrador's announcement brought about a hushed whispering from the crowd. With some slight apprehension, the crowd parted for the hybrid, as he walked into the ring. Looking across from him, Zar noticed the yellow dragoness had also entered the ring.

* * *

"Well, looks like it's you and me," she said, starting to circle as Zar did the same.

Zar only nodded, apprehension making his mandibles twitch nervously as his fringe rose and wings flared, making him look slightly bigger. Thinking about fighting Storm made him even more apprehensive, and he didn't understand why, focusing his mind into the narrow track that was the Hunt.

Taking in his opponent, Zar analyzed for any advantages he would have. Storm had a medium build that was the average for dragons, making her more agile than the hybrid, but also meaning he was stronger and held a weight advantage. Zar's ability to stand on his hind legs would also free up his front legs to strike or grapple Storm more easily. However, Storm's agility would also allow her to disengage at will if he allowed it.

"Well, what are you waiting for," Storm taunted from her place across the ring. Zar didn't make a move, the words of his teachers echoing into his head about learning an unknown opponent's style before striking.

Seeming to grow tired of the circling, Storm quickly leapt into the air for a quick swooping attack. Zar leapt as well from the ground and met her head on. Storm was quickly sent end over end and nearly flew out of the ring. "Ow, what did your parents feed you," she said as she jackknifed to her feet. Zar only turned and focused his eyes on her again, waiting for her to make a move.

This time the electric dragoness opened her maw and a stream of arcing electricity shot towards the hybrid. Zar's eyes widened and he jumped into the air to avoid it. With his attention diverted Storm darted forward again, attempting to grab him with her front legs and teeth.

To the surprise of both Zar and Storm, the dragoness actually managed to latch onto Zar's neck with her teeth, although his dreadlocks kept brushing over her snout and eyes. The two stood locked for a few moments, before the hybrid snarled and shoved Storm off of him with ease.

In retaliation, Zar opened his own mouth and a fireball streaked towards his opponent. Storm yelped as the fireball collided with the ground in front of her and exploded, knocking her to the edge of the ring. Zar only stood there, looking to make sure he hadn't harmed her too much on accident.

Storm took this moment to scramble to her feet and launch a scathing barrage of lightning at the hybrid. This time though, Zar didn't move out of the way, letting the electricity wash over him even as he gritted his teeth.

All dragons around were gaping like fish as Zar withstood the attack and then actually moved **forward** despite the pain he must have been feeling. Storm's own eyes widened in fear as the hybrid marched through her attack and then stood up on his hind legs before her.

With a snarl and flared mandibles, the hybrid grabbed Storm by the shoulders, and lifted her over his head, one paw moving to her belly to get a better hold. As the dragoness' attack coursed through his body, Zar roared and slammed Storm bodily down on the ground with a loud _thud_, raising a small cloud of dust.

As the dust cleared, there were assorted gasps, Storm had been body slammed outside of the ring. All eyes looked at Zar as he stood panting, smoke rising from his scales in different places, then roared with his mandibles flaring to the fullest.

* * *

"Are you alright," Zar asked as he helped Storm up.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, good fight by the way," the dragoness answered as she brushed some of the dust off, "Didn't expect you to be as fast as you were, how did you do that?"

"Hunting," was the hybrid's only answer.

The next round of matches consisted of more victories for Spyro and Cynder, as well as Torch, even Zar, who was matched against an ice dragon called Glacier, a mountain of muscle that was easily tripped up and tricked out of the ring.

"The next match will be a handicap, Zar, versus Spyro and Cynder, the winner or winners will move on to face Torch," Terrador announced, to cheers from the crowd as the hybrid and the two dragons entered the ring.

* * *

"Good luck," Cynder called out to Zar, the hybrid acknowledging with a nod, his eyes narrowing and wings flaring, fringe standing on end yet again.

Spyro lowered his head and charged, Zar leaping to meet the purple dragon head on. Suddenly the other dragon slid to the side, leaving Zar confused until Cynder pounced on him, sending the two rolling.

Stopping just before exiting the ring, Cynder was struggling to hold Zar pinned, "Spyro, help," she called out. Before the purple dragon could acknowledge, the hybrid got his rear legs under Cynder and launched her like a cannonball.

Zar was swiftly on his feet again, he noticed that Cynder had snapped her wings open and was circling, no doubt waiting for the time to strike. He definitely couldn't match the dragoness in the air, so instead he turned his sights onto Spyro. Zar lowered his own head and charged with the impetus of a small battering ram.

"Oof," exclaimed Spyro as the hybrid charged into his chest with a meaty _smack_, sending the purple onto his hind legs as he skidded backward. The purple dragon was surprised at the strength Zar was showing, even as he dug in his hind claws to slow them to a stop.

Bringing his front legs down, Spyro grabbed Zar on his shoulders and attempted to grapple, the hybrid's struggling rocking them side to side. "Cynder, get over here, I have him," he called out. The black dragoness dove and attempted to grab Zar around his belly, her limbs just barely encircling the hybrid's torso.

Zar's struggles only seemed to increase tenfold, writhing and swinging the other two dragons around almost bodily. Finally, one of Zar's front limbs gained freedom; he clenched his paw into a fist, and drove it into Spyro's belly. Having had the wind knocked out of him, Spyro let go. Straightening, Zar then drove Spyro back with a sharp head-butt, leaving Cynder holding onto the hybrid's back. As Zar stood taller, Cynder found her rear paws leaving the ground, then gave a startled yelp as Zar came crashing down on top of her onto his back.

Rolling, Zar got up off of Cynder, and then as she started to get to her feet as well, he clamped his jaws on the scruff of her neck. "Mercy," Cynder said, and Zar let her go instantly and the black dragoness quickly trotted out of the ring, leaving the two males.

Turning to regard Spyro, Zar saw that the purple seemed to have finally shaken the stars out of his vision. Zar waited, when Spyro saw that Cynder was out, he started circling, Zar doing the same.

Zar was slightly winded from fighting both of the powerful dragons, Cynder especially had proven surprisingly powerful to the hybrid, so he decided to finish it quickly.

Gathering himself, Zar leapt into the air, doing a quick short loop before swooping down on the purple dragon. Zar's maw opened and a barrage of fireballs leapt towards Spyro, the purple dragon quickly blasting ice at the projectiles. The two elements clashed in bursts of steam, Zar flying straight through like a blue comet.

Zar collided with Spyro and the two rolled, snapping at and attempting to bludgeon each other. Zar came out on top and picked up Spyro by the throat with both of his front paws, and started squeezing as the purple dragon struggled.

"Mercy," Spyro wheezed, immediately being released and dropping to the ground as Zar dropped to his own feet.

Zar outstretched his paw, the purple dragon taking hold of it and getting up, "Congrats Zar," he said, not seeming to be in sore spirits about losing. "Haven't seen elements as strong as that before," the purple complimented.

"Thank you," Zar replied.

"The final match will be Zar, versus Torch, you both may have five minutes to prepare," Terrador announced, with excited murmurings in the crowd.

**A/N: AAAAAANNNND, CLIFFHANGER! Sorry, but I have to save some of the good stuff right? Anyway see you all next time next chapter of Dragon and Hunter.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everybody, Immortal Drake is finally back, with another chapter of Dragon and Hunter. Now we finally get to the match with Torch. But we will also take a look at Skyclaw and Mela'ra. Necron Dragon Lord of D.A., thank you for inspiring this first part, I nearly forgot about them.**

**Also: I am looking for cover art for this story, if you are an artist or know an artist who would be willing to make some cover art for this story, please let me know in a review or PM, I just cannot pay for it. I will be changing the description of the story to say "*new cover art by [insert artist name here]*" and their gallery on an art site or whichever will be mentioned in the Author's Notes in the next chapter, hopefully. I will also mention two others that are the runners-up.**

**Disclaimer: See Prologue**

Skyclaw sat meditating on the floor of his family's quarters. The metal floor had been uncomfortable to sit on at first, but over the years the only other dragon in the clan had become accustomed to sitting on it.

Like his brother, Skyclaw had some precognitive ability, although he had never been as proficient in it like Ignitus. At most he could get a feeling of what the future held, whether it was good or bad, but little else.

A small smile crossed his features as he heard footsteps echoing from the corridor, his mate Mela'ra no doubt.

The door started opening with a small hiss, until two hands grasped their edges and forced them apart with a metallic groan.

His mate was a Yautja that stood an even eight feet tall, taller than her own father by nearly a head, with the physique of a Hunter, lithe and muscled. Her own braids reached to between her shoulder blades. She was wearing the traditional body suit with hard leather pauldrons and bracers, with shin guards of similar material, the gear she wore when training with the others. Her mask was clipped to a belt around her waist. An angry expression was on her face, her brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and mandibles flared.

Coming to a stop before him, Mela crossed her arms over her chest with her feet apart.

Quirking an eye ridge, Skyclaw asked, "What is it dear, done beating the entire clan and the next one into submission?"

"You know full well what it is, our son has not returned," she snapped, her stance not relaxing in the slightest.

Skyclaw could relate, he was anxious himself over Zar, but he wouldn't let her know that, "Mela, you know he is one of the best Hunters the clan has, and he knows what he is getting into."

"That is not the point," Mela said angrily, "he has his mission and he should be back with us now, and I cannot believe that you can be so calm," she concluded, stabbing a clawed finger in his direction angrily.

Skyclaw couldn't help but wince inwardly at that, but he kept a stoic composure, "Yes, he does, but knowing my brother's friends, they will be sure to have detained him," he responded with a small chuckle.

"Then why recommend him when another could confirm without this delay," Mela retorted, although Skyclaw could detect a small amount of hurt in his mate's voice.

"Mela, dearest," he began, laying down so that he could be at eye level to her, "Zar would have gone to see the Realms at some point, with or without a mission to do, it is part of who he is, he is more than just a Yautja," he nuzzled her cheek slightly, "he can handle himself, he earned Destroyer as his nickname for a reason," he concluded with a small chuckle.

"Not to mention," he continued, "That he has Ignitus there too, and I heard that one of the eggs at the Temple belonged to him, so he has a cousin there as well to assist him."

Mela's stance relaxed, still standing, but not with the ramrod posture she had before. "I know," she began, her voice much softer, "but he is still so young."

Skyclaw thought back to when they had first started thinking about having a child. It was eventually determined that there was no physical way for them to naturally conceive offspring, it wasn't for lack of trying, a small smirk ghosted across his lips as he had that thought.

It was determined though that Mela was able to bear Zar to term, and surprisingly there were no complications to the birth, no doubt thanks to the Yautja's advanced technology.

But Zar was also still very young by Yautja standards, even though both Dragons and Yautja had long lifespans; the dragons matured faster, reaching full physical maturity in their teens and twenties, whereas the Yautja reached maturity around their thirties to early forties.

It wasn't unreasonable for Mela's maternal instincts to be the cause of her agitation, Skyclaw reasoned, "We are his parents Mela, we of all beings would know if something happened to him," he said to her, the Yautja agreeing with a nod.

"We will wait one cycle, then we leave to find him," Mela said, and Skyclaw nodded.

"Let us retire for now, I think you need to relax," Skyclaw suggested, his mate nodding, the pair walking to their personal chamber.

* * *

"So, this is it, you're fighting Torch," Ember said hesitantly as she, Spyro, Cynder, Flame, Kindle, and Storm stood before Zar, waiting for Terrador to announce the start of the final match. The hybrid nodded in answer.

"Be careful, you don't know what he might do just to beat you," Storm cautioned.

With a snort, Zar answered, "I have fought much worse than some arrogant Prince, but you are right."

A larger crowd of dragons had gathered to watch the fight; no doubt word had spread of who would be fighting in a few minutes time. Even the other two Guardians had come to watch the bout. Many of the other dragons that came had given Zar appraising looks, the hybrid kept his head high and proud; there was nothing to be ashamed of for the upcoming contest, even when he had noticed all three Guardians doing much the same.

"Alright, fighters, enter the ring," Terrador's voice rumbled over the then quiet mutterings of the crowd, which erupted with small cheers as Zar nodded a farewell to the other dragons and walked to the ring, the crowd parting for him yet again.

As he entered the ring, Zar noticed that Sparx had flown above the crowd and now was circling around the ring, "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have the fight of the century, the battle of the millennium, the scrap of the decade…oh great now I sound like Volteer." Various chuckles and giggles sounded from the crowd, "In this corner, we have the challenger, the half-alien hunter, he's big, he's mean, and he's so ugly he can kill a grublin with a single glance," more snickering, "HEEERRE'S ZAAAARR!"

The crowd cheered as the hybrid entered the ring, looking around, and then watching the crowd part for Torch. "And in this corner, the champion, you know him, you hate him, PRIIINCE TORRCH!" Sparx announced, to various booing from the crowd as Torch strutted into the ring regardless.

"Begin," Terrador rumbled as both dragons started circling.

Analyzing Torch, Zar determined the larger dragon did hold a weight advantage, but the hybrid's physiology likely made the two equal in strength. Zar's analysis was cut short as Torch lunged, maw gaping and claws outstretched.

Zar darted to the side, barely dodging Torch's initial attack, the red skidding along the dirt, then catching grip and launching again.

The same instance happened thrice more, "Stand still," Torch growled.

Zar himself had been tiring of this anyway, his Yautja side clamoring to put the arrogant dragon in his place, so he reared and caught Torch in mid-air. Not to mention the Prince's simplistic style of fighting was boring and too easy to counter.

Savoring the moment of surprise, Zar then dropped Torch down sideways, the red landing on the back of his head and neck with a _thud_.

As the Prince looked dazedly up at the hybrid, Zar pressed a paw on his throat, "Yield," he stated.

Torch only answered by shoving the paw off of his neck with a snarl and lunging again.

Zar planted his legs and used Torch's own momentum to throw him across the ring, the Prince sliding and then rolling, coming to a stop a foot and a half from the edge.

"This is pointless, you cannot win against me Torch," Zar stated flatly as the red dragon dragged himself up, already panting slightly from the effort.

"I'll show you what's pointless," Torch snarled, lunging yet again.

Zar didn't even bother trying to grab the dragon this time, instead swatting with a single limb, connecting with a small _thwack_, bringing the Prince down to land at Zar's feet.

Looking down at Torch, Zar rolled the red dragon onto his back, staring him dead in the eye, "It's, over," he said simply, pressing again on the arrogant dragon's neck.

"Not to the likes of you," Torch snarled, before spitting a fireball into Zar's face.

Zar quickly reeled back with a pained snarl, the fireball seemed to have only singed his scales a little, but the flash had disoriented and partially blinded him, the hybrid was rapidly blinking his eyes to clear it away.

Before Zar had a chance to react, Torch had pounced, pinning the hybrid on the ground on his back, laying into him with rapid, fierce blows that set Zar's ears to ringing every time.

"This is for making me look like a fool," Torch snapped as a particularly fierce swipe connected with Zar's skull, possibly knocking a couple teeth loose and causing his skull to ring even more.

"This," Torch snarled, raising a hind leg, "Is for showing me no respect," Torch's foot came down between Zar's rear legs with a _whack_.

There were many calls and boos from the crowd, many asking for Terrador to separate them or if what Torch was doing was legal.

Getting off of Zar, Torch left the hybrid to writhe on the ground in his pain, strutting again until he faced towards Zar. "And this, is to teach you humility," he stated, fire gathering in his throat.

"NOO," yelled Storm, the yellow dragoness tackling Torch, the stream of fire simply scorching the floor of the ring.

"Get off of me, bitch," Torch snapped, knocking Storm away with a harsh blow.

The entire crowd took a collective breath as Storm rolled from the blow, knocked entirely off of her feet, coming to rest near Zar.

Zar, a small ring still echoing through his head, looked at what caused the commotion, and saw Storm's still form.

* * *

Skyclaw raised his head suddenly, looking at his mate, "We have to go, now," he said urgently.

* * *

It felt like an eternity as Zar dragged himself over to Storm, the entire crowd silently watching. Heaving himself up, he gently rolled her over. What he saw was three red lines running from her cheek down her jaw, ending an inch from the end of her muzzle, the topmost barely missed her eye, three marks that would scar if the hybrid estimated right.

Seeing her like this, it felt like his heart had plummeted to his stomach and the ground beneath him had fallen into an abyss. And out of this pit rose a writhing, roaring tide of anger that blotted out everything else.

* * *

Cynder waited with bated breath just like the rest of the crowd as Zar looked over Storm. It started small, a small twitching in the hybrid's tail, then it rose to his body, and finally his head and shoulders were almost vibrating, with uncontained emotion.

As the hybrid turned, Cynder edged towards Spyro, Zar's eyes were wild, no scrap of his intelligence or cunning was there, it was the look of a wild animal, nothing more than primal rage could be seen. It was then Zar inhaled, and _ROARED_ a truly bloodcurdling call that cried out for nothing more than absolute destruction of its target, his jaws at full gape and mandibles flaring wider than she had ever seen.

Torch seemed to realize his error as he tried to scramble away from Zar, but the hybrid was too fast, darting forward as a blue blur that caught the Prince by the tail.

Dragging Torch back, Cynder could only watch with morbid fascination as Zar took hold of Torch's right wing, and dislocated it with ease, nearly tearing it from its socket as the red dragon cried out from the pain. Then the hybrid took hold of Torch's tail again, swinging him around and then over his head to impact heavily on the ground with a hard _thud_.

With Torch on his back, Zar straddled Torch's belly, then laid into the Prince with a series of heavy blows to his face that nearly blurred in their speed. Within a few seconds Cynder heard a _crack_ as Torch's nose had no doubt broken from an impact, but the hybrid was not done.

After a half-dozen more blows, Torch's face was a mess, bleeding from both nostrils as well as sporting a black eye and missing some teeth, Zar finally stopped beating on the Prince's face.

Zar however did not seem to be done torturing the red dragon. With a quick snap of his tail, Zar's blade went straight through Torch's own tail, chopping off the clubbed end as well as nearly an extra foot of its length.

As an extra measure, Cynder could only watch as Zar also launch heavy blows between Torch's own legs, landing four.

It did seem it was time for Zar to end it, as he lifted Torch by his neck, looking ready to tear it from his shoulders.

"Z-Zar," Storm's voice broke the silence that had originally only been permeated with the sounds of Torch's beating.

* * *

Zar quickly blinked, coming out of the anger-induced trance with a start. He looked around, to see a broken and bleeding Torch in his paws, and Storm was trembling where she lay on the ground, looking up at him fearfully.

Observing the crowd, Zar saw similar reactions; Cynder was almost huddling next to Spyro, who didn't look much better. Ember and Flame had taken cover behind Cyril, who was trying to comfort them as best he could. All the other dragons had very similar reactions.

Volteer had started towards Storm; maybe to protect her from him, no he was sure it was to make sure he didn't hurt her more.

What broke Zar's heart though, was Kindle. The small orange dragon had huddled against Terrador, who like Volteer was trying to comfort the youngling, but as Zar watched, he could see fear in Kindle's eyes, absolute terror, of him. Zar could see tears forming in the corners of Kindle's eyes, the young dragon not doing a thing to hide them.

Shame weighed Zar down as he dropped Torch from his grasp, if felt as if all of his limbs had 200-lb weights attached, his head and tail drooping. "I'm sorry," was all he had to say as he exited the ring, not caring to stay.

* * *

Storm was stunned, and terrified, at what she had just witnessed. Zar had absolutely torn Torch apart, the Prince was now being seen to with red crystals, but he had been so feral, so savage, it was completely unlike him.

The yellow dragoness watched as Volteer, her father, walked over and lay down to check on her. "Are you alright Storm," he said softly. She could only nod in response as she observed Zar slowly retreat.

"This is my fault," she said quietly.

"Hmm," Volteer said questioningly.

"If I hadn't interfered, Torch wouldn't be hurt, and Zar would never have gone off the deep end like that," she said, "I caused this to happen."

"Stormy," Volteer said gently, "It wasn't your fault, I had a feeling our guest would have clashed with Torch eventually, they did share a room after all," he concluded with a small chuckle.

"But still Dad," Storm insisted, "If I waited, Terrador, or Cyril would have stopped the match."

Volteer gave his daughter a slightly stern look, "If Zar is who he says he is, I think he would have rather died than have the fight end that way, knowing Skyclaw," he said.

This didn't really help Storm's mood as she looked down at the ground, her face still stung from when Torch hit her, it really wasn't that bad a hit, and it wouldn't scar thanks to red crystals. So why did Zar freak out like that?

It was then she noticed her father trying to actually give her some of the crystals, she gave her thanks and crushed them under her foot, the shards absorbing into the wounds and sealing them up like they never happened, leaving the spots feeling cool and refreshed, if a little sensitive.

Storm looked around for Spyro and Cynder, she had seen them standing with a fearful expression on each of their faces. When she didn't see them, she looked to her father, "Dad, where did Spyro and Cynder go?"

"I think they went after Zar, they seemed rather urgent," Volteer said, worry in his voice.

Storm immediately got to her feet, "I'm going after them," she said, her father nodding his consent.

Storm ran through the halls, looking this way and that for even a flash of Zar's cream tinged scales. She rushed into the room Zar was assigned, but found only Torch getting things together, not noticing her in the slightest through his own anger.

Running to where Zar's ship was kept, she ran headlong into Spyro and Cynder, the three dragons colliding at once and falling on their backsides.

"Where's Zar," Storm asked urgently.

"We don't know, he's not in his ship," Cynder replied.

"We need to find him fast, he may be trying to kill himself," Spyro said, his words only making Storm even more frantic. The Temple was like a maze sometimes, with many secluded spots the hybrid could hide in to end his own life, not to mention the gardens.

"We'll split up, cover more ground," Cynder said, the other dragons nodding and tearing off in three different directions.

Storm immediately raced to the gardens, where many plants were kept along with flowers and trees.

Bursting through the doors, Storm's eyes raked her surroundings. If she went through the paths, she could find him if he was there. The problem was the gardens were large for a teenage dragon like her, but she had to stay grounded in order to do a proper search. With a small stomp and growl, she took off full speed down the first path.

This was quickly growing more worrying by the second; Storm had not seen a single trace of Zar, no matter where she looked, even up in the trees. There was only one spot in the gardens left to look, and it was her favorite spot, where a single tree grew tall enough to look out over the entire Temple complex, she used to go there to perch on a branch when she was smaller, supervised by her dad. And when Cynder had been feeling down once about her reputation, Storm had shown her that spot to cheer up the black dragoness.

Reaching the base of the tree, she looked up, and thought she saw a flash of blue scales reflected in the light of sunset.

Quickly leaping into the air, she reached the branch, coincidentally it was one she had perched on many times before, and she doubted Zar knew this was her favorite spot.

Speaking of the hybrid, she found him perched on the branch, looking out over the Temple, the sunset reflected in his eyes of gold and silver. Storm couldn't help but think that Zar looked so noble sitting there, the light reflecting off of his scales and eyes, like a noble champion of the past.

"You shouldn't be here," he said to her, not looking in her direction.

She snorted, "And let you off yourself?"

His only answer was a growl.

Storm sighed, "Zar, you're my friend, even though you haven't been here very long, and, you stood up to Torch for me, for everyone, I couldn't let that go by without a thank you."

Zar only hmmphed in response.

"Look," she said, turning her face so that he could see the right side, showing that there were no more marks.

Zar's eyes and mandibles widened, "How?"

"Red crystals," she replied simply, Zar looked more ashamed if anything.

"I shouldn't have reacted that way, if it was so simple to heal," he stated, his voice flat and nearly unemotional.

"Zar," Storm began, "If I hadn't done what I did, Torch could have hurt you very badly, and I am really glad you did what you did, somebody needed to knock him off of his pedestal," she finished.

The hybrid didn't look convinced, and Storm felt very hurt that he wasn't responding, "Zar, don't feel sorry for yourself, it happened, you snapped out of it, so what?"

"That's not going to stop me from falling like that again Storm," Zar replied almost sternly, "That's not going to take away the fear on their faces, to them, I'm nothing more than an animal, a monster," he finished quietly.

The last part of his statement made Storm's breath catch in her throat, she could feel tears starting to form, "Zar," she whispered.

The hybrid looked at her, a look of sadness and some incomprehension on his face as she inched closer. Storm was very unsure what she was doing herself, even as she was finally right next to the hybrid. Her head started closing with his, slowly, their eyes locking, grey to gold and silver. Their muzzles were less than an inch apart, and then finally, she kissed him.

**A/N: Well, that was awesome, I listened to a good bit of Adrian Von Ziegler's compositions during this, he is a great composer and I can strongly recommend them. And, yes I know this is another sharp cliffhanger, but again I felt this was a good spot to end it on. See you all next time!**


End file.
